The Colonials Stand
by Pixel and Stephanie Forever
Summary: When the Colonies fall, the former Battlestar Exeter - now a salvage vessel - manages to escape. Joining up with civilians, police and the Fleet it regroups and makes a stand for the Colonies
1. The Fall

**The Fall**

John Tait walked out onto the bridge of his vessel and looked over the consoles that displayed a host of information. He had commanded his own vessel, the cargo ship _The Stobart_, for several years now – mainly doing runs between Caprica, Tauron and Virgon. It was a broken down old tramper, falling apart at the seams and currently dead in space with main and secondary engine failures.

"Report" he asked.

"Secondary engine will be up in about an hour's time" reported his engineer. "The main is too fraked for us to handle on our own. We'll need at least a week in a proper drydock to get it working again"

"At least we're close enough to get to Caprica on the secondary engines" said Tait. "We'll have to tell our clients we can't–" he was cut off by his First Mate, a black man from Virgon named Smith.

"Captain? We've just sent out a transmission towards deep space"

"Something I don't know about?" Tait asked. "Malfunctioning comm system?"

"Dunno… Comm system is saying it aligned from a command sent via the engineering override"

"Not me" said the engineer with a frown. She reached over to a small panel and flicked one switch downwards. "Bridge to Engine Room. Anybody send a message using the engineering override?"

"_Yes…_" came the reply. "_You'll see in a few moments_" the voice of their second engineer sounded cruel and mocking. Shannon Inviere had been picked up to serve as their Second Engineer – having a large amount of experience according to her files. Tait had hired her on the spot and thought himself lucky when the engines had gone down.

"You want me to go down and get her to confinement?" asked Smith.

"She's sealed the doors" Tait replied, pointing to the monitor screen. "It's not Colonial Fool Day is it?" he asked.

"That was last week" replied Smith. The navigational panel started bleeping as it detected something in front of them. "DRADIS contact. 123 carom 841… Closing fast"

"Maybe she sent out for help?" Tait suggested.

"It's a design I am unfamiliar with" said the Mate as he looked at another display. Twin hull, central connection…" Smith snapped back to look at Tait. "Cylons dead ahead"

"If that's a joke" said Tait, "Then it is in bad taste…"

"Look out the fraking window" said Smith, and pointed at the ship that came into visual range.

"Oh gods…" the engineer said. "She's an agent for them"

"Get us out of here"

"I can't – the engines are offline"

"Spin up the FTL"

"Offline"

"Sitting ducks" said Tait. "Arm weapons systems. Standby to open fire"

"Sir? Nothing we have will touch their armour" Smith said.

"Cylons do not normally take prisoners" Tait said. "I learnt that lesson in the War. If we're going down, we're going down fighting. Align the comm system to send to Colonial Fleet Headquarters, Picon. Give them our position, details and what has happened. Tell them we're going down" he looked at his engineer. "Use the thrusters to get us moving. Aim for the middle of the Cylon ship"

"Aye"

"Helm" Tait realised this might very well be the last orders he gave. "Helm, all ahead full. Open fire"

#

Unaware of what was happening, a lone ship plodded its way through a massive debris field. Dozens of vessels had been destroyed in battle with the Cylons, and salvage was salvage – even if the battle had happened just over forty years ago. The vessel in question was an old Colonial Fleet ship named _Exeter_. One of the original Hawk class of Battlestars, it had been sold nearly a dozen years ago to her current Captain. David Turndike was a salvager and had brought _Exeter_ so that he could do large jobs in one go – reducing the amount of trips he and his crew had to do. He did not pay as much as some of the bigger companies or pirates, but Turndike was much liked and had broken off a salvage job a few times when a crewmember's family member was about to die. It was for this reason that he had the loyalty of everyone.

"I've been working on the railroad, all the live long day…" somebody sang softly as he stepped onto the Bridge.

"How are things?" he asked.

"We're getting some of the deck plating into the holds now, but we're fairly sure that will not take more then the next hour or two. Had a few incoming messages for the crew, but that's about it really. Oh, we picked up a message on the Fleet Channels"

"Now you know you shouldn't be listening in"

"I know Captain" replied the Communication woman, "But I was doing a reset of the array. Seems the Armistice Officer hasn't reported in yet to Headquarters as he should have done"

"Sounds like a power failure" said Turndike. "Not as if the Cylons are suddenly going to appear out of the blue"

"I wouldn't be so sure" replied the woman. "I mustered out of the service around the same time that _Valkyrie_ came back after a classified mission. I never really found out what happened, but I know she put in a request for a missile to replace one used"

"She popped one off?" Turndike frowned.

"Seems like it" the woman said to him. "I heard a rumour that she had to shoot down one of her own Vipers, but nothing was ever proved"

"Mmm… I have the watch" Turndike said, moving over to the middle of _Exeter_'s bridge and sitting in the padded chair that was a hold over from the ship's original days as a serving Battlestar.

"_Engineering to Bridge_"

"Bridge, Captain"

"_Sir, we're running a little hot on reactors 2 and 3. 'kay to shut them down for repair?_" came the voice of his Chief Engineer, Georgey Spanswick – a busty red head from Caprica.

"Damn it… Go ahead" Turndike closed the comm link himself without another question being asked. He was getting sick and tired of the ship falling apart at the seams. He just hoped to get enough money to put the _Exeter_ into a ship yard for repairs and overhaul. A few moments later, and the lights dimmed to bare minimum and most of the consoles powered down.

"Comms offline"

"Switch to the back up system"

"We used that to patch the mains"

"I see" Turndike said. "Inform our shuttle crews that we're moving out of the debris field enough to use passive comm system. Helm, ahead one quarter on thrusters only"

"Sure thing, captain" and the man at the Helm moved the controls and brought the ship out of the debris field – where upon the passive comm array started to come to life.

"Sir?" it was the woman at communications again. "I'm picking up some odd messages here"

"Such as?"

"The entire Caprican Defence Zone just went to Condition Two"

"What the frak?" Turndike flipped a switch on his chair and heard the same messages. "Broadcast our ID beacon and position to Caprican Defence Command" he ordered. "It'll be pirates or the SRA I'm betting"

"That would only have a few ships at that alert level" said the communications crewman. "I'm hearing all of the fleet round here is at Condition Two… Something major is going on"

"Exercise?"

"Nothing was me –"

"DRADIS contact" came the Helm crewman. "Four contacts bearing 197 carom 082. Range is 10,000"

"Identify them"

"Nothing is in the book according to DRADIS logs"

"Go to visual scanners and search"

"Scanning… Duel primary hull, central axis… Warbook says it's a Cylon Baseship. But its got loads of differences if it is"

"Let me take a looksie" Turndike said, looking at the visual scanners that still worked despite the low power status. "Oh Sweet Lords…" he whispered. "All Hands on deck. All Hands on deck. Bridge to Engineering. Get those reactors back online. Helm, prepare for an FTL jump. Navigation! Plot us a jump away from here – maximum range. Arm all weapons and prepare to fire"

"Captain?"

"The Cylons are back" Turndike became as pale as anything.

"We've no weapons… Reactors are going to take four minutes to warm up"

"Cylons are launching Raiders and are coming after us" said the navigation officer. "Two minutes to weapons range"

"FTL online. Three minutes until we can jump"

"Override the safeties!" shouted Turndike. "We need to get out of here" and then he looked over the weapons console – sitting unused. "Tell our crews that they have one minute to make it back to the ship… Otherwise we have to leave them behind" he hurried over and sat down at the console. Flicking some switches, he brought up the low power scanner and locked onto the incoming Raiders. The design was somewhat different, but he knew what they were in reality. "Captain to Engineering. Chief? I need battery power to the weapons grid"

"_I can't power everything_"

"Just give me the bow turrets" Turndike said.

"_Aye, Captain_" Spanswick said. "_Power diverted_"

"Helm, Z axis rotation. Bring us about to face the enemy" Turndike knew that some of the thickest armour and hull plating was towards the front of the ship. By turning into the incoming raiders, he would be able to stay that extra time.

"FTL is powering up. Two minutes until we can jump"

"Shuttles are incoming"

"Sir, they Cylons are attacking all of the colonies at once. Ships are shutting down all over Colonial space and I', hearing that most of the planetary defences are down"

"RADIOLOGICAL ALARM!" called the navigator. "Inbound nuclear missiles coming from the Baseship. One minute to impact"

"Helm, full reverse" Turndike ordered. "We need as much time as we can get. I'm opening fire now" and he fired the forward cannons. When _Exeter_ had been sold, most of her weaponry had been plated over and rendered inactive. Her missile tubes had been closed and welded shut for all time. All she had was four Anti Aircraft cannons on the bow, six on each side and a solitary pair on the stern – just above the engine blocks.

"Shuttles coming in"

"Come on, come on, come on…" Turndike muttered. Raiders, despite his valiant defence broke through and fired cannons and missiles at the old Battlestar. The ship shook and groaned under the force.

"_FTL online and spooled up_" came Spanswick's voice.

"Jump"

"_But we've not got the shuttles on_"

"I know… Jump" and just as the FTL engaged, there was an almighty explosion that ripped through the Bridge and tossed everyone to the deck.

#

"Gods damn it…" said Turndike. He rubbed his head gently, felt blood and tried to sit up. Looking around, he saw burning consoles and dead bodies littering the Bridge. "Anybody alive?" but there was no reply. Dragging himself up to a sitting position, he rested for a moment before dragging himself to what looked to be the sole working console. "Bridge to Engineering"

"_Engineering_"

"Chief, I need some people up here as quickly as possible" Turndike said. "The Cylons took out everybody on the Bridge – I'm the only one up here. None of the consoles are working except for the DRADIS monitor. Can you bring us to a full stop?"

"_Aye" _Spanswick replied. "_I can do that quick enough. We've taken a lot of damage and have three hull breaches, but luckily all of the bulkheads closed in time so we saved a lot of lives. I can have a crew and a medic there as soon as possible_" and Spanswick cut the line.

"Better make it quick" and Turndike flopped to the floor and the world around him went black.

#

"How are we doing?" asked Turndike. It was several hours after the attack and he was laying in his quarters – sent there because of the fact Sickbay was overwhelmed from the injuries.

"We've got all the reactors back online, life support is working, we're repairing some of the damage and I've got teams working on unsealing some of the missile tubes – though that's something of a back burner project right now" Spanswick said. "We've lost a lot of good people today" she added.

"How many?"

"Over two hundred" came the chilling reply. "And we're still finding more as we open up compartments"

"Do you know where we are?"

"Somewhere near Canceron. Navigation is almost useless at the moment with all of the debris – we're not able to take a star sighting to confirm"

"_Shuttle to_ Exeter" a tiny radio crackles into life.

"Spanswick"

"_We're picking up some faint wireless traffic ahead of us. Sounds like a couple of Battlestars up against heavy Cylon forces_"

"Can you figure out their names?"

"_Only the flag ship… I think it is the 23__rd__ Fleet with the _Tusk" came the reply.

"Very well…" Spanswick was cut off by Turndike taking the radio from his Chief Engineer.

"This is the Captain. Return to the _Exeter_ at once" he switched to the intercom. "Attention all hands, this is the Captain… As most of you know, the Cylons have come back in force, and I think that they might be here to finish us all off. I have just been informed that there is a Colonial Fleet task force ahead of us, and I intend to join up with them and stand the line to protect our homes. I want a jump plotted to put us on the line and all weapons manned and ready to fire. Captain, out"

"Sir… I have never questioned your orders" Spanswick seemed unsure of herself, "But we're somewhat of a wreck ourselves"

"As long as the _Exeter_ can manoeuvre she can still fight" Turndike said. "Help me to whatever you have rigged up as a Bridge"

"That'll be the old Command and Operations Room" said Spanswick. "We've hard wired some stuff, but she'll be as sluggish as hell"

"As long as we can bring our guns to bear" Turndike said. "Have the word passed for all outer compartments to be closed up. I'm going to vent the air from them so that the missile won't do as much damage" he looked at his old friend. "I want you to rig the reactors. If it looks as if we're going to be boarded, then I'll take us right at the nearest target and blow us up. I'd rather face the Gods knowing that I took out a toaster"

"Should I have somebody throw a grenade into the kitchen?" Spanswick asked dryly.

#

"All hands" Turndike said into the intercom, "All hands brace for impact"

#

"Jump complete" called a crewman. "Reading three Battlestars and six Cylon vessels – capital ship size. Multiple fighters on both sides. Cylon fighter craft coming in towards us"

"Very well" said Turndike. "Attention Colonial Fleet, this is the salvage vessel _Exeter_. We've come to render aid to you"

"_This is Major Tom of the _Tusk_. That's a no go, _Exeter" a man's voice came over the wireless. "_We're all critically damaged and breaking up. I'm ordering all vessels to abandon and head for you. Are you pods working?_" and the Captain looked at a crewman who gave a thumbs up.

"That's affirm" Turndike said. "We'll take everything we can. What are your intentions?"

"_We'll give you as much cover as possible before we break up. Just get our people away from here before there's no chance of surviving_" Tom said.

"Copy that, Tusk. We're turning toward the enemy now to take some of the fire off you. _Exeter_ out. Helm, come right by thirty degrees. Gunnery control, standby to open fire on incoming Raiders"

"We've not got anything to lock onto them with" another crewman said.

"Then just look out the window and fire at anything not showing Colonial insignia" Turndike said. "Chief, can you handle the incoming?"

"Sure, Captain" and Spanswick hurried out.

"We just lost _Juno_" somebody called out, and Turndike looked up to see one of the icons on the DRADIS monitor burst into multiple contacts before vanishing.

"Helm, close in to the remaining ships" he ordered. "Anybody that can be spared, report to the port and starboard pods to aid in the evacuation. _Exeter_ to _Tusk_. We're taking on as many of your people as possible. Set your guns and helm to automatic and get the gods damned hell out of there"

"_Automatic systems had us in this situation. We're almost done for… Given half a chance, I'm going to ram the leading Basestar_" Tom said.

"Is that what we're calling them now?" Turndike muttered. "We've got good armour and we're still firing. We'll make a sweep through their lines and give you a path through to them"

"_Negative_" replied Tom. "_You've got all of our people that are getting off now. Gods Speed, _Exeter" and the wireless link was closed.

"Lords of Kobol, hear my prayer… Take the lives of your sons and daughters lost this day, especially those of the Battlestar _Tusk_ into your hands and grant them life eternal" somebody muttered. The DRADIS signature for the _Tusk_ moved closer to the Cylon Basestars, renamed from Baseships, firing as it went.

"Spin up the FTL drives – standby to jump. Secure the flight decks. Helm, full reverse" Turndike ordered. "Attention everybody, this is the Captain. Standby for emergency FTL jump"

"_Last Vipers are aboard, Captain_" Spanswick called from the flight deck.

"Retract the flight pods"

"Not enough time"

"Damn it… Standby to jump in 3, 2, 1" and Turndike turned the key and the _Exeter_ jumped away from the battle as _Tusk_ rammed into the leading Basestar – blowing them both up.

#

Over the following few hours, some of the salvaging crew started making repairs whilst the Fleet looked after their own people. The senior officer who had survived, a full Colonel, had made it clear that his first intention was helping in the rearming efforts so they could better take on the Cylons for a counter attack. Rumours went around and around with a credible one being Commander Adama assuming command of the Fleet and ordering all assets to regroup at Ragnar Anchorage for a counter attack. After another jump to an asteroid belt at the edge of the Helios Beta system, _Exeter_ drifted at station keeping whilst efforts were made to open her missile ports. Teams of salvagers and Fleet people worked to bring long dormant and deactivated systems back into service. Within a day, the main bow cannons were working and the ammunition hoists from the magazines were connected and tested. Vipers sat in all of the launch tubes with a second wave parked right behind them, Raptors sat on the flight decks with missile loads and a Raptor was sat just outside the asteroid looking for signs of the Cylon war machine.

"Ah. Colonel" Turndike looked at the Colonel walking onto his Bridge.

"Captain" the officer nodded. "We've got all of the cannons working as well as the majority of the AAA stuff. Some of the hull repairs are going to have to wait, but we're ready to leave whenever you are"

"Go where?"

"After _Galactica_"

"No, Colonel, we're going to get parts and as many supplies as possible" Turndike said. "I was thinking about jumping to the orbit of Picon and sitting right above the magnetic pole"

"That would throw off their sensor equipment" the Colonel said – a man named Gates. "We'd have to shut down everything active and most of out systems to completely avoid detection, but the Cylons shouldn't see us at all. I assume that you'll be launching Raptors and Shuttles to pick up pieces and supplies"

"Yeah… I'm hoping that the Cylons only took out military assets because I think that there was at least three Heavy Lifters at Picon. If that's the case, we can get flight crews to them, get them loaded with as much crap as we can and then get the hell out of here"

"I was thinking about that" said Gates. "I was somewhat reluctant to discuss this, but our best source is the battle sites where some of the fleet put up a fight. I'm just hoping that we can find more ships"

"How would a Gunstar or two do you?" asked Gates.

"What do you mean?"

"Before the attacks, the Picon yards were building a couple of Gunstars. From what I heard, they were both somewhat completed with life support, basic navigation and FTL drives installed. The plan was to put skeleton crews aboard, launch them and then trip them over to the fitting yards at Caprica"

"Cylons would have blow them to pieces" Turndike replied.

"I am not so sure…" Gates replied. "The Cylons only attacked vessels that were active. I know they did not take out the reserve fleet and the storage yards"

"How many Gunstars?" Turndike asked.

"I heard that three of them were completed before the attacks. Any survivors could have taken them, of course, but I am betting they wouldn't have made it that far"

"You sure?"

"Its worth looking into" said Gates. If we can get just one of them working, it will be a great asset in any future attack. Captain, I'd like to request the use of one of your biggest Shuttles with a squadron of Vipers as escort"

"Military assets are yours, Colonel" Turndike replied, "But I'd like to know about the Shuttle use"

"I was thinking of whats coming up soon" Gates replied, glancing around the Bridge.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Well, Captain…" Gates looked around again. "I was thinking of a new clear future" and he winked.

"New clear – Oh, I see" Turndike smiled a little. "I'll pilot the Shuttle myself, Colonel. By that time, we'll have the heavy missile tubes opened up and checked, so we'll be able to simply drop them into the tubes"

"We'll have to rig their systems to accept commands directly from the Bridge without authorisation codes" Gates said. "After that, it's a question of what we do"

"What we always do, Colonel Gates… Go toaster shopping"

"DRADIS contact!" shouted a Fleet officer.

"Where?"

"Hundred and fifty thousand clicks outside the asteroid field. Bearing of 000 carom 00"

"Sound off action stations, Ensign" Gates said.

"Aye. Action stations. Action Stations. Set Condition One throughout the ship. All pilots man your Vipers"

"Helm, all ahead one third. Spin up FTL drive" Turndike ordered. "Looks like the shopping will have to wait"

"You sound like my ex husband" Gates chuckled.

"We've got an FTL failure" called another Fleet officer. "FTL drive Alpha is offline"

"I need a reading, Mister" Gates said.

"I'm having trouble getting a firm reading through the asteroids, but I think we're facing at least three large contacts" the DRADIS officer said.

"Load main bow cannons with Armour Piercing" Turndike said.

"You ex fleet?" Gates asked.

"No" Turndike grinned. "But I have played a lot of _Raptor Talon_ in my time"

"This is not a game, Captain"

"True… The Cylons will be expecting us to fire the main cannons and then make a turn to put the most guns onto them – right?"

"Yeah"

"So what if we go full tit at them, fire a few rounds off and then jump out of here?"

"What about the offline FTL drive?"

"We'll go without it" said Turndike grimly.

"DRADIS clearing up… I'm reading Colonial Transponders" the officer spoke up again. "Reading a _Fuse_ class Electronics Vessel and two _Caprica_ class Police Frigates"

"_Attention unknown vessel. This is the Caprican Police Frigate _Cambrian._ Send recognition codes or be fired upon_"

"I don't suppose you have any codes?" Turndike asked Gates. Gates simply shook his head in reply.

"It was the second thing to get on my list"

"What was the first?"

"Get off my ship alive"

"Fair point. _Cambrian_, this is the salvage vessel _Exeter_. Our code is Foxtrot Romeo Alpha Kilo Younger Oscar Sierra. Confirm?"

"_That'll do_, Exeter_. Do you happen to have any military people aboard_?"

"A couple. Why?"

"_I think I best talk to you aboard your ship. Permission to come over on a shuttle?_"

"Granted. I'll see you in thirty minutes. Have that civvie get behind us and you and that other paddy wagon assume formation topside port and starboard. _Exeter_ out" Turndike looked at Gates. "You have the Bridge, Colonel"

"Aye, Captain… I have the watch"

# # # # #

"I'm glad to see a friendly face, Commander" said the police officer.

"I'm a Captain – a civilian Captain" Turndike said. "Don't let the _Exeter_'s size fool you. We've had some fights of our own, but we've been running silently for a while now. Whats the situation out there?"

"Cylons took out the Colonies – all twelve of the bloody colonies" the officer said. "Oh… manners" he chuckled. "The names Manning – John Manning. I've been in charge of the _Cambrian_ for just over a year now doing rounds around the local Caprica to Tauron routes. We had a pair of Baseships jump right on top of us so I jumped out. We met up with the _Achilles_ a few hours later escorting the _Furlong_. She helped us safeguard our systems from Cylon attack"

"I heard about that" Turndike passed Manning a glass of whiskey. "Something about the new nav program"

"Right! The Cylons have somehow managed to infiltrate the entire CNP program"

"CNP?"

"Command and Navigation Program. Its designed to make computer betters and to network them so they run faster" Manning replied. "Caprica Police decided to have a couple of the _Caprica_s fitted for it, and we were just on our way for a post refit shakedown when we got the Cylons calling"

"Gods… What did you do after that?"

"After we linked up with _Achilles_ and _Furlong_, we decided to head here and stay quiet for a while. We were on final approach twelve hours out when we got the news that everything was gone. Adama of the _Galactica_ has command of the Fleet now, but I don't know what he has left. I sent a Raptor there to make contact but they jumped right back with heavy damage"

"_Galactica_ fired on them?"

"Cylons made it to Ragnor"

"I see" said Turndike. "Sounds like you had a lucky escape. What are your intentions now?"

"We had thought of making a run for it out of the system. Colonies are wasted for a long time, so we thought about setting up on a planet out of the way. After meeting up with you, Captain, I'd like to join and sign on with you"

"What about the other two ships?"

"Well the other Frigate commander is junior to me and the civvies want to stay any place with friendly guns" Manning drained the last of his glass. "With your permission, Sir, I'd like to transfer some of the wounded from our ships to the _Exeter_. We've only a medic aboard the Frigates and we've got seriously wounded"

"I'll have shuttles sent over to collect them" Turndike said. "What are you combat abilities?"

"One medium cannon, twelve point defence and a pair of small missile tubes topside midships. Missiles are not designed to be reloaded, though, so once we fire them we're out until we can get people EVA and manually put missiles in the tubes. The _Furlong_ has a solitary small cannon designed to break up asteroids"

"Asteroids?"

"It spends a lot of its time around the asteroids colonies and mines, so it made sense to fit it with something to blast rocks away. She could fire it directly against your hull and you'd never notice"

"Fighters?"

"Six Viper Mk Vs, two Raptors and a Shuttle on us and _Achilles –_ _Furlong_ has Shuttles only. We managed to salvage a small refuelling bird that's sat in the _Furlong_'s hanger bay for repairs to the computer"

"How many people on that?"

"None"

"What about your little band of merry travellers?"

"Five hundred in total" Manning replied and Turndike closed his eyes and groaned.

"We've got just over two thousand people here. We had more, of course, but we lost people in attacks and from injuries sustained during that…"

"_Captain, Bridge_"

"Captain"

"_Captain, we're picking up a number of signals from disabled colonial vessels_" Gates said over the phone. "_A lot of them are old signals, but some them are somewhat close to us. I'd like to go and get as many of them off the ships_"

"We've got to think of ourselves first" Turndike said, but then he sighed in frustration. "Get the locations of those closest to us and dispatch a Raptor and some Shuttles and a team in each to the vessel clusters. Tell the moment they see any Cylon assets, they are to make a Jump back here – even if they leave people behind"

"_Captain… We could send an engineering team to make an assessment on the ships. We could do with whatever we can find – even if it just relives the crowds here_"

"Fine – but the orders stand. Have the ship come to Condition Two and a set of Vipers in the tubes. Pilots can leave their hoods open and helmets off until they launch"

"_Aye, Captain. Sir, Raptor 398 just jumped back. Its…_" Gates stopped to hear a report and was soon back. "_Captain, they've found an entire Battlestar holding off the Cylons_"

"Who?"

"_398 reports an ID of _Restormal_. She's just out of the yards on her training and working up flights_"

"We either go and get the civilians, or we can go and get the Battlestar" Turndike said.

"Perhaps we could do both" said Manning. "Send your teams over to my two Frigates, we'll jump to the civvies and see what we can do for them. Whilst we're doing that, you can go and get the Battlestar. We could certainly use the firepower to protect us"

"That would involve leaving you with little fighter protection" Turndike said.

"That is a risk I am willing to make" Manning said grimly.

"All right. Gates? I want you to assemble teams in four shuttles and get them over to the two Police Frigates. After that, bring the ship to notice for an FTL jump to the location of the Battlestar. Order the _Furlong_ to jump with the rescue party as well… They might be able to do something with all of that electronics gear they have"

"_Aye, Captain_"

"I'll best take my leave" Manning said. "Best of luck"

"Luck" said Turndike as he headed for the hatch, "Has nothing at all to do with it"


	2. A Loss and A Win

**A Loss and A Win**

"Jump complete" Gates called.

"Contact! DRADIS contact bearing 312 carom 876" said one of the Fleet officers. "I have some IDs as Colonial vessels and unknowns – presume hostile"

"Helm, take us there at three quarters speed. All guns prepare to open fire" Turndike ordered. "Adjust heading to put us between the Cylons and the Battlestar"

"Aye"

"Attention _Restormal_, this is the salvage vessel _Exeter_. We are coming to your assistance as soon as our speed allows. We are launching Vipers as of this point" Gates handled comms with the Fleet assets.

"Exeter, Restormal" a raspy voice came over the link. "_This is Major Hobbs – acting CO. I'll take all the help I can get right now… we've just about had all we can take from the Cylons. Request permission to start evacuating my crew to you_"

"Negative, _Restormal_. We're not able to do so at this time" Gates replied. "You are ordered to turn to port and make best speed towards us. You are authorised to burn out your engines if needed. Acknowledge?"

"_Under whose authority?_"

"Under the authority of me telling you. Move towards us – that is an order" and Gates cut the link. "Defensive guns – be ready to give cover fire to the _Restormal_ the moment she is in range"

"Cylons now in firing range"

"Fire" and the _Exeter_ opened up with her armament and tore into the incoming Raiders. "Bridge to Viper Squadrons. Mass around the _Restormal_ and protect her. Helm, come right heading 221 – all ahead flank"

"That takes us directly towards the Cylons"

"I'm aware of that, Helm, but please put us on a collision course with the leading Baseship"

"Aye, Aye"

"Gunnery control, prepare to fire port armament in sequence. We're only going to get one shot at this, so lock weapons directly port and fire only when the central section is in place"

"What is the tactic?" asked Gates.

"We're going to get in as close as possible and fire everything on the portside. I'm hoping" Turndike continued, "To breach their fuel supplies. If they have that thing set up inside like they did last time, they'll store the fuel and ammo for the ships in the middle section"

"Closing to weapons range" the ship shuddered as they came under heavy attack from the Cylons.

"These bastards don't have any kind of ship to ship capability except for conventional and nuclear missiles. Excuse me" said Turndike. "Helm, standby. Gunnery control, fire bow cannons on my command. Three, two, one… Fire - Helm, HARD TO STARBOARD. ALL GUNS TO FIRE AT WILL" and the _Exeter_ lurched to starboard and her entire portside lit up as the colonials fired every cannon they could – completing the work of the bow cannons as they ripped through the hull of the Cylon vessel and detonated her fuel and ammo stocks.

"Helm, continue starboard turn. Get us back towards the _Restormal_. Navigation? Plot us an FTL jump from here to there" Gates ordered. "As senior Colonial Fleet Officer, I hereby authorise the use of tactical nuclear weapons. Missile control? Load tubes one and two with nuclear tipped missiles with arming sequencers remotely controlled from the ship"

"You don't want the Cylons to realise they are nukes until the last minute" Turndike thought that the Colonel was getting devious.

"I'm getting faint contacts on the edge of scanner range" said an officer. "Its beyond range for DRADIS"

"Asteroids?" asked Turndike.

"None around here" replied Gates. "Keep an eye on them"

"Aye, Colonel"

"FTL plot computed and entered into computers. Missile tubes one and two are loaded with nuclear missiles" Turndike said, reading displays as Gates worked out tactical plans.

"Have both tubes launch put just enough to get them out. I want them floating dead in space. Time to intercept of Cylons?"

"Twelve seconds. Missiles are away"

"All aircraft clear _Exeter_ airspace. Navigation, start the clock. Missile control, prepare to arm and activate the missiles"

"Jumping in five… four… three… two… one… JUMP!" and the ship twisted and jumped away – only to reappear next to _Restormal_.

"Detonate the missiles" Turndike said quickly. The Missile Officer nodded and pressed two switches – sending the command to the nuclear missiles that obeyed their orders and initiated.

"Both Cylon vessels are heavily damaged" said the scanning officer. "Remaining Cylons are either jumping away or making a run for it"

"Good" said Turndike. "Find out which of the Vipers have the most fuel, form a squadron and have them escort a Raptor to look at those contacts" and then he looked at Gates. "Are you thinking what I am thinking?" he asked.

"I think so" Gates picked up the intercom phone. "All Marines report to the flight decks on the double – heavy loading. All Raptors to be ready for immediate launch" Gates looked at Turndike. "I'll go over and lead them myself. If those contacts prove to be Cylons, then don't hesitate to get the hell out of here"

"I'm not losing _Restormal_" said Gates. "Even as damaged as she is, she is still a useful asset. I'm guessing that the Cylons would have left anything intact that would be useful to them – like Heavy Lifters and mobile repair docks. If we get one of those, we can fix all of our damage, get _Restormal_ fixed up and then figure out what we're going to do"

"I hope you are not going to fight the entire Cylon fleet"

"Not at one go… Not at one go" Gates chuckled. "I'm hoping that we can get the _Furlong_ into the battle sites, get some of the shut down vessels working again and then jump them out. If we're lucky, we might be able to get stuff that will be useful to us" and then he noticed Gates trying to decide something.

"I shouldn't tell you this" he said at last, "But there is the chance I am the sole remaining senior officer in the Colonial Fleet. There is a secret base in the Meringue asteroid field containing a number of ships in storage. It was built in the event of a Cylon attack and contains all the heavy lifting gear we need. I have not been there myself, but Commander Donaldson once told me about it"

"Do you have a list of ships?"

"Not a list, but I know that there was some Heavy Lifters, mobile docks, shuttles and such like…" Gates shook his head. "It is worth sending a Raptor there to check it out"

"No… We'll get a message to the Frigates and the _Furlong_ to hurry up with their jobs and then get to there and check it out. If they have been in storage for a while, the _Furlong_ has the ability to check them for computer damage"

"Assuming that the Cylons have not already got there. We don't know if they took prisoners and questioned them"

"True, but I have to weigh the risk of that against getting supplies. It gives the civilians a much needed dose of hope as well. No, we'll have a Raptor jump to them and relay the orders"

"Sir!" the communications officer called out. "Squadron reports contact with unknown vessels. They say… They report two Battlestars, three Destroyers, five Cruisers and a number of other smaller craft. Battlestars are squawking valid codes"

"Names, Lieutenant" Gates ordered.

"Battlestars _Nelson_ and _Vanguard_ with Destroyers _Defiant_,_ Triumphant and Hermes_. Can't get a reading on the Cruisers, Sirs"

"Which ship is senior?" asked Turndike.

"_Vanguard_, Admiral Fitzpatrick commanding" came the reply. "Sirs… Message from the Raptor. You are to repair on board"

"Sounds like him" said Gates.

"You served under him?" asked Turndike.

"As part of the famed Happiness Patrol" Gates replied. "Three Battlestars, four Destroyers and six Cruisers. Sounds like he lost a couple of his ships in the attack, though I doubt they went down hard when the Cylons hit them"

"So who gets to meet the Admiral?" asked Turndike. "The message was for the Commander to go aboard the _Vanguard_"

"Well I suppose that would be you as the _Exeter_'s CO, but I better go with you in case there is any misunderstanding" Gates said.

"Right…" Turndike picked up the phone. "This is the Captain. Have a Raptor ready to launch in five mins… Board a few Marines on it to – standard weapons"

"That's an Admiral" Gates warned.

"You want to take that chance?"

"Fair enough"

#

"_Raptor E-11, you are cleared for departure_"

"Roger, _Exeter_ control" Turndike said. "Commencing forward thrust" and he gently tapped the thrusters to lift them off and out of the pod. "We have cleared the pod"

"_Copy that, Raptor E-11. You are cleared for BS _Vanguard. _Please note two Vipers formatting to port and starboard_"

"Copy that. Have them in sight" replied Turndike.

"_Those are your escorts, E-11. Safe journey, Control out_"

"_Raptor E-11 from Katooni. Forming on your wing as escort, Captain_"

"Katooni, this is Hawkeye" Turndike used his old callsign from his days as a Viper pilot. "Pleased to have you along for the ride. Fancy joining us all the way to _Vanguard_?"

"_That's affirm_"

"Then stick with us, pilot, and I'll give you a great ride"

"_Promises… Promises… I'll take you up on that. Katooni out_"

"_Vanguard_ from Raptor E-11. We are a flight of one Raptor and two Viper craft inbound from _Exeter_ and approaching from your starboard beam. Estimate sixteen minutes until we enter your airspace" Gates handled the comms with the Battlestar.

"_Acknowledged, E-11. Contact control on 121.9 when approaching outer marker_"

"Roger that" Gates replied. There was nothing to do but listen in as Vipers and Raptors were recovered and both fleets took stock of the situation.

_Beep Beep Beep_

"Gates, check the gear" Turndike said automatically.

"Right" Gates brought up the system check list and found the forward landing strut circled and blinking in red. "Reading a fault in the forward landing gear"

"Copy. Katooni, Hawkeye. Can you make an inspection of the forward nose gear? We're showing a caution alert"

"_Roger, Hawkeye_" One Viper went below the Raptor and then soon came back up again. "_Hawkeye, Katooni. I see damage to the forward gear – cause unknown. I bet it was some debris too small to be seen visually or by DRADIS. What are your intentions?_"

"We've passed the half way point between _Exeter_ and _Vanguard_" Gates put in.

"We'll press on" Turndike said. "_Vanguard _from Raptor E-11"

"Vanguard"

"_Vanguard_, we're showing damage to the forward landing gear on our sensors. Visual inspection confirms some damage, but it is unclear if it is damage to the gear doors or the strut itself. I'm not going to take that chance and I am declaring an emergency at this point. Request priority approach and landing for _Exeter_ Actual and Flight"

"_Copy that, E-11. Would you prefer Hands on or Hands Off approach?_"

"I'll take a Hands Off"

"_Copy that, E-11. You are cleared to proceed to Port Flight Pod. Do you require fire and rescue crews in attendance?_"

"Negative. _Exeter_ Flight does not require any assistance except to land. Out"

"_Actual_?" asked Gates.

"Well you said the CO was called Actual… Seemed only right" Turndike replied.

#

"You've done well for yourself" said the Admiral. "However… The fact you have a Battlestar is a concern to me. I think it best that a full crew be placed aboard"

"I disagree" Turndike said. "She's a decommissioned Battlestar under lawful Civilian control. We have weapons installed, of course, but that's only to beat off a couple of pirates now and again. The fact that we've got main cannon operational again does not detract from the fact that I'm not letting my ship get turned over to some fool with plans of knocking the seven kinds of hell out of the Cylons"

"Sirs…" Gates spoke. He had been listening for the last twenty minutes at the ongoing war between Turndike and Fitzpatrick. "Captain Turndike's men are the most familiar with the _Exeter_'s systems at the moment. My men and the survivors of the other ships have gotten to know them well enough and have conducted a few combat operations. With respect to your rank, Sir, you might as well gift the _Exeter_ to the Cylons as she'll be no use to you"

"Let me make it clear to you, Admiral" Turndike said, "If you attempt to take over the _Exeter_ without my permission, I will order her and my fleet to leave here and leave you with one less fleet asset"

"HOW DARE YOU!" Fitzpatrick said. "I will have you shot for this. WE ARE AT WAR"

"Admiral, the war is over" Gates said calmly. It's a better idea for us to group together and then work out what to do. But if you want to go on some holy war then just give me some medical supplies and we'll go on our way"

"You may take your pathetic collection of ships, but the Battlestar belongs to me" the Admiral thundered. "Turn over your access codes to the computers and order your crew to surrender the ship to my people" and Turndike stared at the officer before looking at Gates and then withdrawing a radio.

"_Exeter_ from Turndike. Lock on to the _Vanguard_ with all weapons that come to bear and launch all combat effective aircraft. You are allowed to fire upon her if we're not heard from in the next one hour. Turndike out" he looked up "Your turn, Admiral"

"You are letting the Cylons win"

"Admiral" Gates said carefully, "Captain Turndike and his crew have saved my life and the lives of thousands of officers, men and civilians from the hands of the Cylons. I can not allow you to remove him from the Captaincy of the _Exeter_. My Marines are higher and better trained then yours. Think of it, Sir… You've been away for a long time and now have been thrown into extraordinary events. Just give us the food and supplies we need and we'll be on out way – leaves you free to do what the hell you want"

"I could have you arrested"

"You could, but I have two heavy cannons pointing directly at this room. Admiral, do yourself a favour and just give us what you want. I have been here only half an hour, but I can already see a fleet that has been defeated. Let me ask you one question, Sir…" Gates sighed. "Admiral, how many of your crew want to do something other then go on an all out assault? We saw the state of your ships as we came in for landing. Some of your ships are old, outdated and damaged. If you want to go out in one last blaze of glory, then I will not aid you in that cause. I spent time with you on the Happiness Patrol, Sir, and I know how much this attack has affected you. I beg of you to at least as –"

"_ACTION STATIONS! ACTION STATIONS! SET CONDITION ONE THROUGHOUT THE SHIP_"

"This is the Admiral – Sit Rep" Fitzpatrick called to the CIC.

"_Seven large contacts just jumped in on us. Size matches Cylon capital vessels. They are launching fighters. Orders, Sir_" asked the _Vanguard_'s commander.

"Launch all Vipers, order the flight to come about and prepare to engage the enemy" he put the phone back into the socket. "We've got Cylons coming at us in large numbers. We'll talk about this later…" and he left Turndike and Gates in his quarters as he rushed to the CIC.

"This would have to happen now" Turndike said. "Katooni, Turndike. Get you and Petro's birds into the air. Until our planes get here, take your orders from the _Vanguard_ CAG"

"_Aye, Aye_"

"Lets get going" Gates said. "We could be of help at CIC"

"Right" and he followed Gates out the quarters and down the corridors – pushing and jabbing past crew rushing to Action Stations. "_Exeter_, come in please"

"Exeter_ here_"

"We've got enemy incoming… Launch our birds and take orders from the _Vanguard_'s tactical officer. Dispatch a Raptor to bring those frigates back – we're going to need them"

"_P.W.O.R_"

"Permission to enter CIC?" Gates loosely saluted his superior officer.

"Granted" the man wearing Commander's insignia returned the salute. "Do you have any skills to help us?"

"I took the advanced course War College in tactical plotting" Gates said.

"Right… Get up to Aux Tac and help there" the Commander looked at Turndike. "I do not allow Civilians on my deck"

"I'm _Exeter_'s Captain" Turndike replied. "Do you want my help or not?"

"Fine… Find something to do. Guns, get me a targeting solution on the leading vessel and prepare to open fire the moment she is in range. CAG, get your birds to intercept the Raiders and light missiles. Missile control, spin up a pair of ship to ship killers"

"I can't, Sir" replied the Missile Officer. "I'm having trouble with the automatic systems"

"Oh my Gods…" Turndike pushed the officer out of the way and slapped everything to manual control. "This is how the Cylons took the fleet out in the first place. You have to get your systems onto manual control. Commander, what are your Vipers?"

"Mk7"

"Get them back aboard. They are advanced enough to be affected by a Cylon logic bomb"

"Shit…" the Commander turned to the Communications officer. "Order our birds to get back onboard at the double. Burn out their engines if they have to – just get aboard. Tell them they can land the wrong way this time. DRADIS? How long until _Exeter_'s birds get here?"

"Six minutes"

"I… I don't understand" Fitzpatrick looked at the DRADIS that showed hundreds of red dots coming towards them and only two green dots intercepting.

"The Cylons have ways of tracking us we don't yet understand" Gates called.

"Tell our birds to land on the other ships. Engineering – emergency FTL in ten seconds" the Commander called. "All guns open fire the moment we pop back into normal space – damage to barrels is acceptable"

"DRADIS contact. Lone Raider… Ramming course"

"Shoot it down"

"Too late" came the reply before the lone Raider slammed at high speed into the hull of the _Vanguard_. Equipment came off walls, ceilings and the floor as the crew was thrown around the various decks. Fire sprouted in the CIC and it rapidly filled with smoke. Alarms, klaxons, equipment noises and loud voices all served to cause a terrible confusion.

"What the hell happened?" Turndike asked.

"It hit us in the Engineering section" somebody called out. Aft section of the ship is destroyed. We've got a hull breach and the reactors are redlining"

"Commander?" Gates vaulted over the console and leaned down – only to find the Commander with the DRADIS console buried in her head. "Commander is dead" he said. "You… Can we shut down the reactors?"

"No, Sir… Damage is too great. We've got about nine and a half minutes until we have a reactor breech"

"Gods…" Turndike said. "Order an evacuation of all surviving crew members to abandon ship"

"We don't have power to the launch systems. All we have is emergency battery power"

"Are you Fleet people stupid…?" Turndike asked Gates.

"Seems so" he replied. "Order the crew to get to the pods and launch the moment th–" the officer stopped talking. "Do we have a clear path to the flight pods?" he asked.

"Yes"

"Then order the crew to get to either pod"

"What are you thinking?" asked Turndike.

"Each pod was designed to be blown clear in the event of a major fire that could not be controlled. We can activate the charges from the pods themselves, drift clear and let _Vanguard_ go up whilst taking out the enemy"

"Good plan"

"I thought so too"

"Sirs?" the injured communications officer spoke. "I just lost the other ships in the fleet"

"Damaged relays"

"No, Colonel" the reply was fast. "They just we… Gods! They've been nuked" and all eyes darted to the sole working DRADIS display that showed the green dots of the major ships blinking several times before vanishing – leaving angry looking red dots.

"Attention crew of the Battlestar _Vanguard_, this is Colonel Gates assuming command of the ship on behalf of fleet command. All hands to abandon ship. Get as far away from the ship as possible. Set guns to automatic firing and loading. All hands abandon ship"

"Helm, do you see that giant ship over there?"

"Yes, Sir" the Helm officer replied to Turndike.

"Well steer straight for it – maximum thrust" and he picked up the intercom. "This is Captain Gates to Engineering crew. Remove the safeties on the engines and then abandon ship"

"Flight Deck reports evacuation proceeding" said an officer. "Cylons closing to lethal range"

"Doesn't matter" Gates said. "Right, you lot, me and the Captain will handle the rest. Get to the escape pods" and they nodded once and hurried away. "Arm the explosives on the supports and prepare to detonate"

"Right" Turndike used the Operations console to get into the system and armed the detonation packages. "Armed. Everyone seems to have cleared the ship apart from us"

"Detonate in five"

"Understood" Turndike said. He waited for the ship to be angled downwards before flicking the switch. There was a bone jarring shudder as the two flight pods burst away from the crippled Battlestar and drifted away on a course that would avoid hitting the Cylon vessel. "Hull is starting to break up"

"Lets go" Gates said, then paused as he ripped off the commissioning plaque from the wall. He took one last look at the ruined room with the lone DRADIS display indicating the Cylons were closing in on them. "Love from the Colonial Fleet, boys" saluted and then hurried after Turndike who was heading towards the last escape pod still in the racks.

#

_Vanguard_ ploughed right into the heart of the Cylon Baseship before exploding. The detonation of the reactor, fuel and ammunition stores caused a shock wave that tore through the Raiders and destroyed another Baseship and crippled several more. Faced with that loss, they regrouped and jumped away. Over the next few hours, _Exeter_ deployed her Raptors on search and rescue operations along with the surviving Raptors from the _Vanguard_ and her fleet. The two Police frigates arrived to help as well and they managed to rescue the survivors and salvage the crippled Vipers and Raptors that littered the battlefield. As soon as he got onboard, Turndike hurried to CIC and got a damage and status report. Knowing that every ship they had was valuable, he and Gates arranged for the ones not capable of seeing combat to be stacked on the _Restormal_ until they could hook back up with the _Furlong_ and then jump away to a base that Gates had told him about several hours previously. An advance Raptor flight had proven the base was intact with nobody aboard, so it looked as if they had a place to go to. Of note was the fact it was hidden inside a nebula which emitted radiation that masked their small fleet from scanning by the Cylons.

"Jump complete" one of the Fleet officers said. "Picking up the rest of the fleet… They are all accounted for"

"Very good" Gates said. "Captain, I think it best if we launched a boarding party and secured the station"

"Agreed. Once we have that, we can sort out our mess and see if we can–"

"Sir, I'm picking up a medium sized vessel close to the station" one of Turndike's crew said.

"Action Stations. Launch Alert Vipers" Gates shouted automatically.

"Belay that" Turndike said. "Comms, open a channel to the ship. Challenge their ID and put it on speakers" and Gates glared at Turndike at the thought of him overruling a military order.

"Aye, Sir. Attention unknown vessel, this is a Colonial Fleet task force led by the Battlestar _Exeter_. Identify yourselves or we will fire upon you"

"_This is the medical vessel _Hope _to the ship claiming to be the _Exeter. _Send us ID codes_"

"Not again…" Turndike shook his head. "Tell them we are a civilian ship with no ID codes but our registry code is 1544 4202" and there was a pause as the _Hope_ verified their Caprican Registry codes.

"_Thank the Lords of Kobol you are here_" the voice said at last" "_If it hadn't have been for the location of this place, we'd be lost or attacked by the Cylons_"

"Ask them how they got the coordinates" Turndike asked.

"_Hope_, I have been directed to ask you how you got the location for this base"

"_We rescued a couple of pirates who turned themselves over to our custody in exchange for giving us the details_" came the reply. "_We picked up a couple of fighters and a Raptor on the way here, but that's all we've picked up_"

"Order them to be ready to receive incoming wounded" Turndike said. "And then have Captain Conners report to CIC on the double"

"Conners?"

"Katooni" Turndike said. "She was one of our escorts to the _Vanguard_"

"Why her?"

"I'm making her CAG"

"Why?"

"Because I like the name" Turndike had a smile that to Gates had the knowledge of some inside joke that amused the Salvage Captain.

"Sir, the _Hope_ replies they already have wounded aboard but can take our most critically wounded first" the communications officer said.

"Very well… Helm! Bring us to a position close to the station. Have the hanger decks prepared to launch shuttles and Raptors with boarding parties" Turndike ordered. "Gates, you better organise all that crap. Ah, Captain Conners" he greeted the incoming officer. "Although my friend in blue over here would argue this is a military matter, I'm appointing you my CAG"

"Sir?"

"I need somebody who knows what they are doing" Turndike replied, "And I saw what you did out their when the Cylons attacked. None of my crew know how to lead a full fighter wing, and I like your callsign"

"My callsign? I'm the CAG because of my callsign?"

"Can you think of any other reason?"

"Experience of leading a group…"

"Say 'No, Sir', Katooni"

No, sir" Conners smiled. "Thank you, Sir"

"No trouble… Now, CAG, your first order of business is to find out how many of our birds are capable of fighting and how many need repairs. With regards to squadrons, try and put together those pilots from the same ships. Squadron names are those of their respective vessels"

"We will remember them" Katooni replied, then saluted Turndike and left at the double.

"So now what, _Admiral_?" Gates asked sarcastically.

"Now we regroup and count what we have" said Turndike. "The Cylons will take a while to secure everything, so I say we have a week to make repairs and do what we can"

"We'll need more ships then we actually have" Gates said. "And where do we get the men from?"

"My people are salvage engineers, Colonel" Turndike said softly, "This is what we are planning on doing. We take a flight of Raptors to the place you told me about that had all the ships, we get aboard them and jump them back here. They should have all the supplies that we need"

"What if the Cylons show up?" Gates asked. "We have one semi working Battlestar, a half demolished one and a pair of Police Frigates"

"I've been thinking about that" Turndike said as he leaned on the plotting table. "Thanks to communications we have received, we know the location of a number of major battles which should give us wrecks to recover. We get a couple of heavy lifters or something to latch on to the wrecks, jump them back here and we'll weld them back together again. With the ammo we might be able to scavenge from the other wrecks, we could maybe have three Battlestars in a few months. For now, though, lets get to work moving our damaged birds to the station. Should have a machine shop aboard so its easier to fix them there then bringing parts back and forth, b–"

"Sirs?" the communications officer called out.

"What is it?"

"I'm picking up some weakened Comms from a group of transports under attack from several Squadrons of Cylon Raiders"

"We can't go and get them" Gates said. "We need all of our firepower here to defend what we have"

"Yes, but I can not ignore the pleas of a group of people that could very well be the last members of the human race" Turndike said. "I'm going"

"And I am saying that we're not"

"This is my ship, Colonel. Look… We're all a little stressed out here, so I'll give you this. I'll launch most of my birds for you and give you something to get off and take command of the rest of the fleet. Either way, Colonel, I am going" Turndike issued the orders for most of the Vipers to be launched – saving a Squadron to be launched from each flight pod. "Standby to jump in five minutes" he added.

#

As soon as the counter hit zero, the ship jumped away and reappeared at the battle. Instantly, all of _Exeter_'s guns opened up on the enemy targets that came to bear and soon cut a huge path in the waves of Cylon Raiders that were attacking several large passenger and freight transports. A pair of battered light cruisers were trying their hardest to put up a defence, and it was only the fact that the _Exeter_ arrived that saved them all.

"Launch all Vipers" Turndike ordered. "Gunnery control, set batteries Alpha through Constellation to staggered salvo fire. Turret by turret firing, please". Turndike was attempting to whither down the incoming enemy ships by rippling his fire along the front of the Battlestar – basically making a wall of steel.

"Vipers away"

"Helm, all stop! Rotate the ship to provide maximum coverage. Comms – tell those ships to get under and behind us. Missile Control, prepare to launch a full spread on my mark…"

"Missile tubes opening, Captain"

"_Exeter_ to all Vipers – break break break" and the Vipers suddenly veered off from their attacks and got out of the way of the missiles that slammed into the Raiders. Some were shot down, but most were followed by a vengeful Viper pilot that wanted payback for a murdered loved one. "Vipers are cleared to engage any remaining enemy targets. Katooni, are you out there?"

"_Roger that_"

"Have you, Pedro and the rest of your old squadron provide protection to the convoy" Turndike said. "_Exeter_ to convoy. This is Captain Turndike of the salvage Battlestar _Exeter_ at your service. I suggest that you disengage your engines and come to a halt. We'll give you protection until we can check that you are all fit to jump to where the rest of us are hidden. I'd appreciate it if the COs of the Cruisers would come board my ship as soon as is possible – I'll send a shuttle if you don't have a ship to get to us. _Exeter_ out" and Turndike looked at the Comms and Operations officers. "Away the Damage and Medical parties in shuttles. Have a Raptor jump back to the station and bring the _Hope_ back"

"Aye"

"Yes, Captain"

"CIC to Engineering"

"_Spanswick_"

"Chief, I need you to come to four minutes notice for jumping"

"_Understood_" came Spanswick's voice. "_We took a few minor hits, but its not even worth fixing really_"

"Understood… Keep me informed of your progress, Turndike out" and he looked around the CIC. "I've saved two flight pods, a large number of people, equipment, Vipers and Raptors and _NOBODY_ brought me a cup of tea? Get moving, people…" and the mixed crews laughed before somebody brought the salvage Captain a cup of hot tea. "You!" a started Fleet officer came to a partial attention out of instinct.

"Sir?"

"What's your name, Lieutenant?"

"Salt, Sir"

"Good. Have the COs of the Cruisers report to my quarters as soon as they arrive. Have the galley send some tea and coffee" he added. "You have the deck, Mr Salt" and Turndike wondered off to his office to think about what had happened and to read on the losses he had suffered from the two successive actions.

**A/N:**

**Well, I hope you all like this chapter as much as the first one.**

**Although I am not too fond of large lists at the end of chapters, I have decided to put one here now so you all know what ship is which in the grand scheme of things. The Armed Civilian vessel **_Norland _**is named after the very famous ferry M/V Norland which went down to the Falklands with the fleet in 1982. Also, the support vessel **_Furlong_ **is named after a very good friend of mine. **

**List of Vessels**

**Military Assets**

_Exeter_ **– **_**Hawk**_** Class Battlestar**

_Restormal _**– **_**Restormal**_** Class Battlestar**

_Cambrian _and _Achilles _**– **_**Caprican**_** Class Police Frigates**

_Furlong _**– **_**Spark**_** Class Electronic Support Vessel**

_Ajax _and _Cumberland _**– **_**Tiger**_** Class Light Cruisers**

_Various Vipers, Raptors and Shuttles_

**Civilian**

_Pan Galactic _**– **_**Galaxy**_** Class Passenger Transport**

_Colonial Heavy 77 _and _Colonial Heavy 243 _**– **_**Pride of Dover**_** Class Mixed Transports**

_Norland _**– **_**North Sea**_** Class Heavy Ferry Transport (Armed)**

_Hope_ **- _Nightingale _Class Medical Vessel**


	3. Today? Today Was A Good Day

**Today? Today Was A Good Day**

"DRADIS contact! Receiving Colonial ID codes… Reading four Raptors, one fuel tanker and six repair ships. New contact! ID reads as mobile drydock _Quick Fix_" the excited voice of the officer said.

"They made it…" Turndike said in relief. "Things are looking up for a change. "Order the _Quick Fix_ to take _Restormal_ into her main bay and to begin repairs. Get Kattoni and _Restormal_'s CAG to come up with a plan on where to put her Air Wing whilst she's getting sorted" and the officer nodded in agreement. He was running everything on his own since Gates came down with a nasty case of a virus that had him confined to the Intensive Care Unit on the _Hope_, though Turndike was finding the running of both sides of the fleet fairly easy to handle.

"Aye, Sir"

"Get me the names of the other ships and see if the tanker craft has bowser birds"

"Sir… DRADIS contact! Small craft… It's our scouting Raptor"

"Are they damaged?"

"No, Sir. They wish to speak to you as soon as they come aboard"

"Very well. Have the LSO give them priority clearance and have some of my people get the pictures downloaded. Mr Salt" the officer he had spoken to some days before looked up from Tactical.

"Captain?"

"You have the deck"

"Aye, Sir. I have the deck"

#

"… here and here" the pilot and ECO of the Raptor, Captain Mannering and Lieutenant Wilson stood in _Exeter_'s old Operations Room which had been slowly brought back into use. "We watched as the Cylons moved around the place for a couple of minutes and then they moved on"

"And you think you were not spotted?"

"No, Sir" Mannering said. "Once they left the area, we jumped closer and ran scans of the wreckage to see what was what. We've worked out that most of the ships were taken out first by the computer virus and then by missiles"

"If you look at these pictures" Wilson pressed a few buttons on the control panel, "You can see that the two halves of the _Dorsetshire_ and the two halves of the _Ark Royal_ are in remarkable condition. We'd need to put people on them to check, but our scans showed that we could easily repair them within a few months"

"Of course, Sir" said Mannering, "All we really need to do is to get the bit welded back together again, repair most of the heavy damage on the mobile drydock and then launch one to dock at the station and have the rest attended to by the repair vessels"

"I shall take your recommendations under advisement" said Turndike. "Now, on to other matters… Despite the station having a lot of military supplies, we're running short on basic things such as water, toiletries and food. As you know, the only people that get a full food allowance are the old, very young, sick, the medical personnel and the pilots and crews for the Shuttles, Vipers and Raptors. During your scans, did you detect any radiation?"

"We picked up some of it, Sir, but nothing that was too great. Are you suggesting that we go and take the supplies off the other ships as well?" Wilson asked Turndike.

"_Norland_ is empty so we can take her to the wrecks and load her up" he replied. "As the Cylons can appear without warning, we'll have to get the supplies first before grabbing the ships. Once she jumps back, the Heavy Lifters will jump there, dock and jump back. I'll take the _Exeter_ to provide an escort in case we get into a scrape, but I don't expect that we will do at all"

"What about the planets themselves?" asked Wilson. "We picked up a few transmissions so we guessed that somebody must be still fighting"

"We can't take them" said Turndike. "As much as it pains me to say this, we would lose more people then we'd actually save in picking them up. Add to that the fact that we're running short on supplies ourselves… I'm sorry, but its not possible" he looked at the images again – dialling one up in particular. "I have a job for you…"

"Sir?"

"I've spoken to the other Captains, the Captains of the two police ships and to the commanders of the other Military vessels. We're in agreement that any suffering on the Colonies would be so great and so terrible by the Cylons that it has to be ended for their own sake" Turndike knew his words would haunt him. "My Chief Engineer, three Nuclear Weapons Officers and two of my most trusted crewmembers are loading your Raptor with a low yield nuclear missile"

"Captain…?" Mannering knew what Turndike was going to say.

"We have all come to the same conclusion that if the suffering of the human race is so great, so without hope, that this becomes the final option - we will deliver a low yield nuclear weapon and end it all. Once our mission is completed, you will enter the atmosphere of Caprica directly over the location of the camp. Firing your engines at full power, you will then launch the weapon and Jump away"

"The camp?" asked Wilson.

"The camp will be destroyed with no survivors. From what we've been told, it is all for the best anyway… If you wish to back out of this, I'll have another crew replace you" and the two officers looked at each other before replying.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but I don't think either of us could do that" Mannering said at last.

"That's perfectly fine" said Turndike. "I understand your decision and respect it. What happens will have to be lived with for the rest of their lives… Will you two at least sit on your Raptor and keep it from going anywhere?" and they nodded. "What is it you say…? Oh yes… Dismissed"

"Sir"

"Sir" the two saluted him, though he wasn't sure why, and then left the room. He waited thirty seconds before picking up the phone and calling the CIC. "Pass the word for the CAG to report to the Operations Room"

#

"Good Morning" and nods greeted Turndike as he spoke. They had gathered in one of _Exeter_'s squadron ready rooms to discuss the plans they had worked out. They would have met aboard the station, but the facilities there were not high on the list of things to clean. Apart from himself, the Captains or Acting Commanders of all the ships in their little fleet sat in places normally occupied by pilots – looking like a paint range in the different coloured uniforms or jumpsuits. "This is a meeting to discuss the final plan for what we are about to do in a few hours time. As you know, we're planning to jump in-system around Caprica and recover the pieces of a few ships to put back together and increase our defences. We're also planning on getting as much supplies as possible from the wrecks as it does not appear as if we can restock for a long time. Seven hours ago, all of our FTL capable Raptors and Shuttles jumped to the site in order to start this process. However, there are more things that should be noted. Captain?"

"Captain" Kattoni nodded and took the position at the lectern. "We do not expect any issues with the operation, but recon flights have indicated the presence of large numbers of Cylon vessels in the Caprica system. To this end, _Exeter_ will jump in system with _Norland_ to begin the transfer of supplies. As soon as this is done, _Norland_ will jump back to the fleet which will be the signal for the Heavy Lifters to move in and capture the pieces. Normally, this would be the end of it… But we've got some intel that might prove interesting" she pressed a button and an image of a shipyard appeared on the screen behind her. "This is the Celeste Shipyard on the surface of Caprica. For some reason, the Cylons did not over run the place and they did not destroy the ships there. We suspect that they at least disabled them so we're going to send a small team from the _Furlong_ to check them out and see if they can get them operational again. If they can, then they are to load up with whatever equipment they can find lying around and then get the hell out of there"

"I presume that you'll leave the place unusable to the Cylons?" asked one of the Captains.

"Once all our operations are completed, _Exeter_ will make one low orbit pass and use its main batteries to destroy the complex" Kattoni replied. "Then we'll recover all of our birds, bar one, and then we'll jump back"

"You are leaving a ship behind?"

"No… The Raptor that will stay will be piloted by the CAG and myself. We'll be launching the missile ourselves" Turndike spoke.

"What about protection for the fleet?" asked another Captain.

"We've got most of the _Vanguard_'s air wing as well as those of the other ships onboard the station. We'll leave most of them behind, but most of the Raptors and Shuttles will be ferrying supplies over to the _Norland_" Kattoni said.

"Captain… I'd like to come with you" said Manning. "If the Cylons do jump us, then at least we can help defend _Norland_ until she's able to get away. We can also help to speed up the supply issue by offering a second deck to land on. _Norland_'s decks will get busy during the unloading, and we've got our own Shuttles too – so we'll help out"

"Hmm…" the thought of putting another ship at risk was weighed against the additional supplies that could be got. "Alright, Lieutenant" Turndike said after thinking hard, "Glad to have you with us. Okay, people… I suggest that you alert your crews, offload anybody not coming and then bring your engine rooms up to thirty minutes notice for FTL jump"

# # # # #

"Exeter_, Raptor 312. Approaching Port landing bay_"

"_Roger, Raptor 312. You are cleared to land on Port Spot 2. Checker is green, call the ball_"

"_Cleared for Port Landing Bay Spot 2. Checker is Green and I have the ball. Raptor 312_"

"How long until this is over?" asked Kattoni.

"Another three trips… So around an hour" said Turndike. The pair of them sat in the Raptor that was armed with the nuclear weapon they would use shortly. A feed of the DRADIS from _Exeter_'s CIC was showing on the Raptor's own DRADIS screen and the audio was piped over the speakers.

"Exeter_, Raptor 527. I'm picking up some faint contacts on the edge of DRADIS range. I estimate seven contacts at least_"

"_What is their heading?_" asked a voice that sounded like a trained officer.

"_Slowly drifting in this direction. They look to be unpowered, but I can not be certain_"

"_CIC to Captain_"

"I see them…" Turndike pressed a switch and brought up the feed from Raptor 527 on the piloting DRADIS. "Launch two of the Alert Vipers and have them formate on Raptor 527. Get them to close in and identify those contacts… And have the fleet come to immediate notice for FTL Jump"

"_Aye, Aye_"

"I wonder what they could be" mused Turndike.

"Debris from the battles?" suggested Kattoni.

"But in a close formation…?" they waited for the Raptor and two Vipers to close in before they got a better look.

"Exeter_, Raptor 527. We're still two minutes from visual range, but I confirm seven targets drifting gently towards the wreckage. They appear to be some sort of large pod, but we'll find out soon enough_" the sound of the pilot's enthusiasm was infectious.

"Wish I was out there" muttered Kattoni.

"Me too…"

"_Raptor 527_, Exeter. _Check your sensors for radiation and other types of weapons_"

"_Wilco, but we're not picking up anything at all from them. _Exeter_, 527. I have them faintly in sight – adjusting course to flyby_"

"527, Turndike. If they show any signs of intercepting _you_, I want you to pull back and let the Vipers blast them"

"_Aye, Captain. But, Sir, I'm telling you that they look harmless. If anything, they look like cargo pods_"

"Cargo pods?" Kattoni whispered.

"If that's the case, how have they maintained formation?" Turndike looked at her.

"_Raptor 527_, Exeter._ Can you see any marki–_"

"Exeter_, 527. We're being scanned by one of the pods. Reading a massive power source and a huge bui_–" the voice of the pilot cut off.

"_Come in, 527_. Exeter_ to Raptor 527… Come in_" and two pair in the Raptor looked at the DRADIS readout that suddenly went blank.

"527, Turndike. Turndike to 527" but his call was not answered. It never would be as there was a shout from the CIC of a radiological alarm at the edge of range.

"_Explosion in the fifty megaton range_"

"This is the Captain. Recall all ships to the nest and abort the salvage. How long have the Heavy Lifters got?"

"_Ten minutes_"

"Damn… Action stations! Launch all remaining Vipers, inform _Achilles_ and _Norland_ to close up on us and come standby to jump. Kattoni, we're going"

"Closing the hatch…" she said and pressed a button on her console panel.

"LSO, Raptor 213. We're taking off from the forward area"

"_Copy that_" and the LSO said no more – she was busy trying to land and launch birds at the same time.

"The police frigate has launched her birds and is weapons hot. _Norland_ has put her two Vipers into the air and is recalling her birds" Kattoni said. "Oh no…" she groaned.

"What?" asked Turndike.

"I was looking through the other pictures of the site, picking the optimum place to send the missile"

"So?"

"I saw children"

"Gods…" Turndike groaned.

"At least they will not feel anything" Kattoni turned to her console as it beeped. "Contact! DRADIS contact. Bearing 112 carom 975. Vessels IDing as our recovery party"

"Order them to jump away to the fle–" the Captain stopped talking as a plan came to his mind.

"Sir?"

"Wait" Turndike opened the comm. "This is Captain Turndike to the recovery party on the ships just jumped in. Follow this Raptor. Turndike to all Viper Squadrons. Split into sections and have half each follow me. You are cleared to engage any hostile target in the air or the land. _Exeter_, dispatch a Raptor to the _Hope_ and have them standby to receive multiple casualties"

"Captain? What changed your mind?" asked Kattoni as she worked to assemble the ships following them.

"There's been too much death lately" Turndike replied as he piloted the Raptor. "We've lost a lot of people, a lot of battles… Today? Today is different. Today is when we get a victory"

#

Vipers darted backwards and forwards in the sky over the camp as hundreds and hundreds of people hurried in an organised panic aboard the ships. They were hardly suited for the task in hand, but it would do until they got them all back to the fleet. When they had heard of the rescue, most of the Raptor and Shuttle crews had remained on duty in order to ferry more people to safety. The few Marines that _Exeter_ carried, survivors from _Tusk_ created a picket around the camp whilst two specialists went into the main building and took as much information as they could. A problem had been discovered, but there was no time to sort it there and then.

"Exeter_ to all surface forces. We've got DRADIS contacts on the extreme edge of range – CBDR. Estimate five minutes until they reach weapons range_"

"Acknowledged. CAG to all Vipers and non FTL capable Shuttles – get to the nearest vessel RFN. Combat landings authorised" Kattoni said.

"Turndike to Romeo One Zero. Fall back to the ships – incoming enemy vessels"

"_Understood_"

"Last people are aboard" said Kattoni.

"Right… We'll wait for the Marines to get here then we're off. Arm the nuke"

"Yes, Sir" Kattoni typed a command into the keyboard. "Delta Delta Sierra Bravo Zulu Delta Tango"

"Delta Delta Sierra Bravo Zulu Delta Tango" Turndike repeated the command into the pilot's console.

"Code is authenticated… Five minutes to detonation on your command"

"Romeo One Zero, your position please?"

"_Three minutes away. Possible incoming enemy forces_"

"Lets see how they like this" muttered Turndike. "Arming gun pods…"

#

"Cylons moving in quickly… We're not going to have enough time to recover all of the Shuttles before we are over taken" said an officer.

"Order the Vipers to come about and take out the Raiders. Have the frigate move in closer to protect _Norland_" Spanswick really wanted to get down to her engines, but Turndike had left her in charge until he returned.

"We're outnumbered five to one"

"CONTACT! DRADIS contact"

"Restormal_ to _Exeter_. We're launching our planes to assist you… Bring your birds home_" the battered Battlestar had made the jump by being hooked up to a pair of Heavy Lifters – a crafty solution that would have Turndike both furious and in awe.

"Thanks for the assist, _Restormal_. You…" Spanswick pointed at the comms officer. "Order _Norland_ to jump now. Have all remaining ships make landings on the closest remaining vessels" she looked at the Vipers that launched from _Restormal_. "You magnificent bastards"

#

"_Shuttle 13 Alpha to Raptor 213_"

"213" Kattoni said.

"_All Marines are aboard_"

"Right, Shuttle… Get the hell out of here. CAG to Vipers. Protect Shuttle 13 Alpha at all costs. Out"

"Hey… had an idea" said Turndike. "Plot a Jump directly in front of the Cylons"

"Are you insane?"

"We need to gain height to fire the missile… So lets use the missile on something of a higher target"

"This plan is insane" the woman replied as she started plotting the Jump.

"Raptor 213 to all vessels. Make immediate FTL jumps. I say again – make immediate FTL jumps as soon as all craft are aboard"

"Jump plotted and entered into computer"

"Jump in three… two… one… JUMP!" and there was a flash of light as the Raptor vanished from the surface and reappeared directly in front of the Cylon Baseship. "This is Colonial Raptor 213 to Cylon vessels. You are ordered to stand down and surrender your ships"

"Weapons locking on"

"Well I thought I would take a chance… Missile away!" and he launched the missile as Raiders came close enough to fire on them. The Baseship also tried to fire on it, but the Raptor was too nimble in the hands of a daring pilot.

"All ships have jumped" said Kattoni as she watched the last few ships blink off her screen. "Jump plotted and entered"

"JUMPING!" and the Raptor jumped away. The missile managed to avoid being hit and it sailed happily into the landing bay of the Baseship, ploughed right throw the internal bulkheads and spaces, buried itself right into the middle of the immense spacecraft. Milliseconds later, acting on one of the two commands it had been given, it detonated – tearing the great ship apart.

#

"Jump complete… We're seventeen hundred kilometres from the fleet" Kattoni checked her boards.

"Nice plotting" Turndike whistled. "Raptor 213 to Battlestars_ Exeter_, _Restormal_ and Station. Launch Vipers and isolate the ships we have recovered from Caprica – shoot any ship that attempts to leave. Medical Vessel _Hope_, send your people over to the ships, but do not REPEAT do not take anybody off the ship without an armed escort"

"_213_, Hope._ Exactly whats going on?_"

"_Hope_, switch to tactical channel Bravo" and there was a click. "I have reason to believe that the Cylons have cloned people"

"_How do you know_?"

"Because the laws of genetics does not allow for seventeen sets of blonde twins. Treat what you can on the ships and take blood samples – something is not quite right. 213 out"

"How could they clone?" asked Kattoni as she came forward to take the co-pilot's seat.

"Remember that old horror story from the First War? The one about the Cylons capturing people and subjecting them to all sorts of tests and cutting them open…? I think we may have just discovered what the Cylons were up to. _Exeter_, Raptor 213"

"_213_, Exeter"

"Request permission to land"

"_Line up and hold for a landing in the starboard pod. We're clearing deck as quickly as possible_"

"Line up and hold, Raptor 213" Turndike looked over at Kattoni. "We're going to have to get everybody in on this. I just don't know what we're going to do for now…"

"Well at least the ships are isolated from the rest of the fleet" the officer replied. "We just have to figure out how they've cloned so many twins, why they did it and for what purpose"

"Spies? Traitors?"

"Maybe… We should certainly get all of the civilian and military leaders together and work out a plan–" she stopped talking as a long suppressed memory came to the forefront.

"You alright?"

"I shouldn't really be saying this because of orders, but there is not much of the fleet left… Six years ago I was cross training in Raptors on the _Hera_ when we picked up a contact on the edge of DRADIS and which would not answer hails. As I was already out, the CAG ordered me and two other birds to investigate. We found them drifting with now power, but we got permission from the _Hera_ to dock and go aboard in case they had lost all power. As we were looking around the main passenger cabin, our radiation detectors went sky high, but nothing that would not be taken care of by a good hose down with water and chemicals. Anyway" Kattoni continued, "We found a bunch of bodies lying as if they had all died in agonising pain. We called it in and were ordered to continue investigating – but no more then ten minutes later we got an order directly from Commander Scote, _Hera_'s CO, to get off the ship immdiatly. We had only just undocked and moved away when the ship jumped along side and blasted the ship apart. A couple of days later, we were all summoned to the Wardroom were there was a couple of officers from Naval Intelligence and Admiral Corman. They swore us all to secrecy about what had happened and what we saw. A few of us kept our eyes and ears open for any titbits of information but we discovered nothing except for a small incident on the armistice line where _Valkrie_ shot down one of her own birds… Some sort of advanced Stealthstar we heard"

"That's funny, I've heard something about that myself. One of _Tusk_'s officers told me about that when we first got to the station"

"We kept photographs of what we saw, Sir. Managed to hide them away in the air vents of the Raptor. I'll get you them from my locker as soon as we dock – might help to see what is going on"

"I'll take that offer"

"_Raptor 213_, Exeter._ You are cleared to land. Speed is 150, checker is green – call the ball_"

"Cleared to land, 150 I have the ball. Raptor 213" Turndike executed a perfect landing in the starboard pod.

"213 to CIC"

"_CIC_"

"Have all senior officers report to the _Exeter_ as soon as possible. Have a call put out for any intelligence officers to report aboard too" Turndike thought for a moment. "And get those two police officers here – they'll be of great help. 213 out"

"I'll print copies of the pictures off as soon as I get a shower and something to eat" Kattoni said, opening the hatch of the Raptor whilst still on the lift.

"And I'll have a whiskey… a Bloody large one at that" Turndike get out the ship and walked towards his quarters – wondering what on earth he was going to say.

**A/N:**

**Well… Well… Well…**

Looks like our band of happy chappies have got themselves one heck of a problem. Find out next week what happens and what they will do about it…

**For those three people that have asked about the names, the pilots with the callsigns "Kattoni" and "Pedro" are named in honour of two of the Younglings from the Season 5 mega arc in Star Wars: Clone Wars.**

**For movie trivia fans, the code that activates the nuclear warhead is the same code to confirm launch stand down in Crimson Tide. And for the TV fans, the Marine callsign is from the show Ultimate Force – a classic mix of British spirit and guns and explosions done by the SAS.**

**And if we have any naval fans here, the **_**Dorsetshire**_** was, in real life, a **_**County **_**class vessel.**

**With the addition of two new Battlestars, the vessel list has not been updated below. The new civilian ships will get names as soon as I come up with them.**

**List of Vessels**

**Military Assets**

_Exeter_ **– **_**Hawk**_** Class Battlestar**

_Restormal _**– **_**Restormal**_** Class Battlestar (Under repair)**

_Dorsetshire _**– **_**County**_** Class Battlestar (Under repair)**

_Ark Royal _**– **_**Glorious**_** Class Battlestar (Under repair)**

_Cambrian _and _Achilles _**– **_**Caprican**_** Class Police Frigates**

_Furlong _**– **_**Spark**_** Class Electronic Support Vessel**

_Ajax _and _Cumberland _**– **_**Tiger**_** Class Light Cruisers**

_Various Vipers, Raptors and Shuttles_

**Civilian**

_Pan Galactic _**– **_**Galaxy**_** Class Passenger Transport**

_Colonial Heavy 77 _and _Colonial Heavy 243 _**– **_**Pride of Dover**_** Class Mixed Transports**

_Norland _**– **_**North Sea**_** Class Heavy Ferry Transport (Armed)**

**Utilities**

_Quick Fix_** – **_**Albion**_** Class Heavy Drydock (light arms)**

_Thirsty Furret_** – Tanker**

_Spanner, Bolts, Screws, Hammer, Welder_ and _Dave_ **– **_**Toolbox**_** Class Repair vessels**

**See you next week for another exciting chapter of THE COLONIALS STAND! *cue dramatic music***

**Regards**

**Pixel and Stephanie**


	4. The Colonials Return

**The Colonials Return**

"First of all, I want to thank you all for coming so quickly. Its been an eventful couple of days, but we seem to making the best of what we have" Turndike said. "Secondly, you'll be pleased to know that _Restormal_'s repairs are coming on well and her thrusters will soon be repaired enough for her to leave _Quick Fix_ and dock with the station to finish her repairs. My crew are looking over the two wrecks now to see which one is the better chance of being sorted quickly – though the rumour is that _Ark Royal_ is the most likely. Now… I have asked you here because of a difficult and dangerous situation which has arisen. We believe that the Cylons now look like us"

"What?" exclaimed one of the assembled Captains.

"Its true" said Captain Richards of the _Hope_. "We've tested them after concerns were raised, and, to cut out the sciencey bits, we've found genetic markers which point to artificial construction. Knowing this, we instantly went through all medical record that we have for all the fleet and found another thirty seven people we suspect to be Cylons. Also, a number of people have been reporting radiation sickness which should not really be happening in such numbers. We're isolating those cases and testing them"

"What about those we know are Cylons?" asked another Captain.

"We're holding them in the _Exeter_'s cargo hold and the _Pan Galactic_'s hanger bay" said Kattoni. "We figure that if they try to rush the ships, we can just open the doors and flush them out to space"

"What are our long term plans for them?" asked yet another Captain.

"Well… I'm not sure. I'm sure our Military friends here would suggest they are prisoners of war and intern them. Of course, we don't have the resources for that so we're going to think about executing them" Turndike said. "Of course, if anybody has any other suggestions…"

"We should get as much information on them as we can. If we can learn things such as battle plans, fleet deployment, communication frequencies…" said Manning. "I have some trained interrogators between are two little frigates – we can take care of that for you"

"Sounds good" said Turndike. "Now, if we can go back to the issue of ships? I understand that when we have all four Battlestars working it will mean that we've got somewhat close to a full fleet"

"Yes, Sir" said the Major in charge of the two Light Cruisers – a Major Dial. "A fleet would consist of about three or more Battlestars along with a number of smaller vessels"

"Which we do not have" said Kattoni.

"So what do you suggest that we do, Major?"

"We could bring the two Cruisers and the two Frigates into any action we engage into with them arranged in a diamond around the Battlestars. Of course, we have another option"

"I'm all ears"

"The Cylons will be searching in directions away from the site of the wrecks. We left behind a good number of ships – some still intact. If I can borrow one of the repair ships then all I need is a small Engine Room crew to man the ship and jump it. As you know, repair ships can provide power to crippled vessels. I propose that I jump in with the ship and provide it power – and keep doing that whilst it brings its own systems online so we can get the jump drives up and running quicker. All I will need is an hour at most" Dial looked around at the assembled Captains and senior officers. "We need the ships in order to protect us. Plus, if this goes well then it can serve as a basis for getting other ships"

"What ships are we talking about?" asked Richards.

"That depends… We know from comms traffic at the time of the attacks that not all disabled ships were destroyed. Some were simply vented to space and then shut down. We can go aboard those and then simply power up and jump – easy as pie. I'd suggest the Fifth Fleet out near the forest moon of Endor. They were supplying at an arms facility there – we could get some much needed weapons and parts there if they were caught in the middle of re-supping"

"Hmm… How many ships in the fleet?" asked Turndike.

"Six Light Cruisers, two Heavy Cruisers and four Battlestars. I think Admiral Henries was Fleet Commander – raised his flag in _Zulu_ if I remember"

"So an entire fleet is just sitting there…" Turndike's mind began to rush with thoughts, ideas and plans.

"The plan is sound" said Kattoni, "But it assumes the Cylons did not blow up the re-supply base as well"

"The Cylons used a hell of a lot of firepower which would have eaten up their reserves. It would be easy enough to replenish their stores from our own armouries – so they would not want to risk destroying what they would soon take"

"I thought we did well enough with just what we have at the moment – now we could actually take the offensive to them" Turndike chuckled. "Poor Gates is going to be mad he's missing this. Okay… Do you truly think that this is going to work?"

"Yes"

"Okay… Simple vote here – all raise your hands if you want to go with this plan" Turndike said and each man or woman there raised their hand. "Then we're going with that idea. I'll take the _Exeter_ along with the repair ship, launch my birds and then jump out to the edge of DRADIS range near the static grid. We'll be able to see out, but nobody should be able to see in. If anything happens, then we'll simply jump back and help you out. The rest of the ships can look after themselves for the moment"

#

**Two Hours Later**

"Report!"

"Nothing on the scopes but the _Spanner_ and the _Ajax_" said one of Turndike's crewmembers.

"Very good. How long left until the ships are all ready for jump?"

"Sixteen minutes"

"Very good. Prepare for an FTL jump back to the station – all stations check in"

"Aye, Captain. All hands, standby for an FTL jump. All stations report"

"Navigation – go"

"Flight Ops – go"

"Engineering – go"

"Operations – go"

"Weapons – go"

"Clock is running… FTL jump will take place in three minutes"

"Very good" Turndike replied.

"CONTACT! DRADIS contact. Bearing 180 carom 000" a shout came from the DRADIS station.

"Where away?"

"From the station… Getting readings of three squadrons of Raiders and one of Heavy Raiders"

"Action Stations"

"Sir, all divisions report they are already at Action Stations. All guns manned and ready"

"Ah, forgot about that. CIC to Engineering"

"_Engineering_" came the voice of Spanswick.

"I need an emergency FTL jump"

"_You've got it. Jumping in three… two… one… JUMPING_!" and the CIC seemed to expand forever before snapping back into place. DRADIS lit up with individual contacts and multiple alarms as the ship took stock. Without warning or notice, the _Exeter_'s guns opened up and started to tear into the Raiders.

"Where is the Baseship?" asked Turndike.

"Unknown" came the reply. "Got no sight of it on DRADIS or the other scanners"

"Keep looking for it" Turndike said. "It has to be here somewhere. _Exeter_ to _Ajax_. Dial, time for us to get the hell out of here"

"_I need just another ten minutes, Captain_" came Dial's voice. "_Then we can jump away with all of them_"

"The others can jump?"

"_Affirm_"

"This is Captain Turndike to all crews – Jump at once. All Vipers, clear the air. Missile control, prepare to fire a full spread of Anti-Aircraft"

"Missiles online. Selecting load… Targeting"

"Guns, prepare to fire main armament"

"Sir?"

"Set the shells to explode in front of the Cylons – the exploding shrapnel should take care of a lot of them" Turndike rushed to the other side of the CIC to flick switches as the _Exeter_ trembled from the impact of Cylon weaponry.

"_Kattoni to _Exeter"

"Go ahead"

"_Request permission for release of nuclear weapons_"

"Pardon? Say again, CAG"

"_I'm in a Raptor, Captain, carrying a nuclear warhead. I could wait until you are all jumping away and then detonate_"

"What about you?"

"_I always wanted to face a hopeless battle…_"

"Ain't going to happen" said Turndike. "Besides, I need that nuke for a much better purpose. Get aboard the nearest ship. All Vipers CLEAR CLEAR CLEAR. Guns, fire" and the decks rumbled and trembled as the _Exeter_'s main guns fired giant shells – flying at a quarter of the speed of light and then exploding at the end of the timer to throw shrapnel into the horde of incoming Cylons. Missile Control followed this up by firing at any target not painted in white or gold.

"CONTACT – NEW CONTACT! CYLON BASESHIP"

"Where?"

"Right on top of us"

"Oh fuck me rigid with a Viper's cannon. Kattoni, _Exeter_. Priority mission. As the most senior dipshit currently here, I order you to fire on that Baseship and then land as quick as you can. _Exeter_ to _Ajax_ and _Spanner_. Abort your mission and prepare to jump. All craft – combat landings authorised"

"_Sir, two minutes_"

"Not a second less, Major. Out. Helm, rotate the ship to provide maximum cover for the Vipers as they land. Guns, target all batteries except Anti-Aircraft on the Baseship – fire at your choice. Missiles, prep tubes one through four"

"Aye, Captain"

"Standing by"

"Fire"

"Sir, Vipers are engaging"

"Baseship is launching nuclear weapons"

"Stand by for an FTL jump" Turndike picked up the comm set. "Ajax, time is up"

"Have a better idea, Captain" and suddenly the Battlestar next to _Ajax_ and _Spanner_ turned towards the Cylon Baseship and began to open up with her main turrets – taking the Cylons completely by surprise.

"Message on all channels" called out the Communication Officer. "Message reads as follows: Battlestar _Olympic_ to Fleet Command, Battlestar _Exeter_. Seventh Fleet has reengaged Cylons at my position. Seventh Fleet will hold this position and will hold the line until we are either victorious or dead. Message ends"

"Order all Vipers to engage the remaining Raiders. Switch defensive turrets to fire on the missiles. Main weaponry to engage primary target"

"Aye, Sir"

"Helm, bring us about to 000 carom 000 mark 010 – ahead one quarter"

"Aye" and Exeter slowly moved around and faced towards her biggest enemy. Vipers fired on anything that was not friendly looking and it turned from supposed defeat of the remains of Colonial civilisation to that of the Cylons. Together, _Exeter, Ajax and Olympic _targeted the Baseship and hit the magazines – tearing half of the ship apart and practically destroying it. Because of the detonation of one nuclear weapon, the Cylons could not jump away which allowed the Colonial forces to wipe them out.

"Targeting the top half of the Baseship" Turndike's weapons man said, typing commands to his console.

"No…! This could be a good chance for some information on the Cylons. Comms, order all ships to not target that half but to wipe out any remaining Raiders. Have the other ships jump back to our base but _Ajax_ and _Olympic_ are to remain here for now. Once they get to the station, have them relay a message for the _Furlong_ to come here. We might be able to board the remains of the Baseship and get intel from her computer memory banks. If so, they'll be the perfect people to try and break their codes"

#

"With supplies gained from the retrieved vessels, we've been able to speed up the process of repairing the _Restormal_. We now think that we can have her ready in two days" said Major Dial.

"That's good" said Turndike. "I can not believe that we managed to get away with this. I fear our luck may run out, but I'll take what I can. What about the rest of the ships?"

"Most of them lacked Vipers due to their being destroyed in dogfights, but we took on a lot of different ships' Air Wings, so we can simply put them on where we feel is best" said Katooni. "We've got some Vipers in storage on the station so we're unpacking them as quick as we can and shuttling them over to the _Olympic_ as she's in perfect condition and combat effective. In addition, we managed to get nearly twenty percent of the supply station's stocks – that should help us to replenish stuff that we have used"

"That's good" said Turndike. "How are the rest of us civilians finding their new accommodations and situation?"

"Most are finding it a bit tough, but they are getting over it. We've set up a sort of bus system between the civilian fleet. We've also got a shuttle system between the station, the passenger ships and the drydock for those that have offered to help" said Dial, consulting a list he was reading from. "When repairs are completed on _Ark Royal _and the _Gigantic_, we'll have two complete battle fleets"

"Sounds good. I'd like to keep the two police frigates with the _Exeter_'s group. No offence intended to you, but we've fought together in battle and I trust them implicitly. I may not look it under this tough and grizzled exterior, but I am a little sentimental" Turndike smiled.

"So what do we do with two fleets of ships?" asked Katooni.

"Well I think we should go on the offensive" said Turndike. "All we've done are hit and run attacks – How about we give them a damn good thrashing? My crews have been looking at the state some of the rescued ships are in. In one of them we found a set of Jump Jammers that were being transported to the Colonial Fleet Museum at Picon"

"Jump Jammers?" asked Dial.

"Some Battlestars were fitted with them during the first war. It stopped the Cylons from jumping away in the middle of battles. The only set still on an active Battlestar were those on the _Galactica_, though I think those hadn't been used in over thirty years" Turndike said.

"I remember those from when I did my Cadet Cruise on her" said Katooni. "I didn't know what the name was at the time, but that must be what I saw. Never ever saw them in action during my six months onboard, but I heard rumours that they were supposed to disrupt FTL ability"

"What do you propose we do then?" asked Dial.

"Well we wait until the two Battlestars are repaired and refitted and then we go on the offensive. If the _Furlong_'s crews can take a good look at them we might be able to get more of them made" said Turndike.

"Targets?"

"Well we know from intercepted comm traffic that the main Cylon force seems to be over Caprica – some sort of settlement trouble... Not sure what though, so I propose that we jump into Caprican space, hit them with the Jammers and then pound the living hell out of them"

"We'll lose a good number of people"

"I think that everyone will accept that fact, though every single man and woman will be given the decision to come in the attack. What I have done is for the good of the people, to protect them and to give them a good life. For those of the Colonial Fleet, they will have to answer to Colonel Gates. The _Exeter_ is under my command, and I will take it into action whatever happens. If it turns out that no other ships will follow me to Caprica, then I will ask the Fleet to train as many of my crew and volunteers as can be trained in a week's time to fly Vipers and Raptors" and there was a long and silent pause as the people in the room looked at each other.

"Sir?" Manning rose from his seat. "I speak for myself and my crew when I say that although my duty is to the safety of the people and the fleet at large, we'd like very much to sign on with you"

"Where the _Exeter_ and the _Cambrian_ shall go, the _Achilles_ shall be right alongside" Lieutenant Morris, commander of the other Frigate stood to stand alongside his senior. "We're signing on with you, Captain"

"You can't very well go into battle without a trained CAG" said Katooni. "I'm with you"

"Captain, I forbid you from going. As much as the plan makes sense, I would be the first to agree, the duty of the remaining vessels of the Colonial Fleet is to protect what remains of our people" Dial said.

"But si–" Katooni was cut off by Dial.

"That is my order, Captain. I'm sorry, but that is my final word" and heads went this way and that as the people followed the exchange. Katooni looked down at herself, at Dial and at Turndike before standing and removing her uniform jacket.

"Then you have my resignation effective immediately" she said, then spun round to Turndike, came to attention and saluted. "Captain, I would like to join your crew. I have expert qualifications in Vipers and Raptors, reached the rank of Captain and my last posting was as Acting CAG aboard the Battlestar _Tusk_"

"Welcome aboard, Megan" Turndike saluted her back, then shook her hand. "Your first order from me is to see to the training of my officers and crew in the skill of flying Vipers. I'd like you to lead my Air Wing and that of the two Frigates"

"Aye, Aye, Sir"

"Dismissed"

"You'll regret this, Captain"

"I'll either be regretting this or be dead, Major. The _Exeter_ and her crew saved me when hope was lost, and you proposed to not help what was a good plan? I'd rather resign and face the Cylons in one Battlestar and two Frigates then sit here safe and sound. Now, if you will excuse me Major, I have a lot of work to do" and Megan Summers walked out of the room.

"Talk some sense into her, Turndike" said Dial. "I know our plan was to get two fleets for us to use against the Cylons, but one fleet has to stay here in order to train people up and to defend what little ships we have left"

"I agree, Major, but for how long do you think we can sit here for? The Cylons will find out where we are sooner or later, and there is no other place for us to go to if we have to run. We can either make a run for it and find the _Galactica_, we know which course she must roughly be on, or we can punch the crap out of them and make them know that we will make them pay for what they've done" Turndike said.

"I know Captain, but I have to consider the wishes of Colonel Gates. His orders bind me and limit what I can do"

"But he is on medical leave" one of the assembled people said.

"But he still can give me orders in the situation we're in" said Dial.

"I know... I was one in the service myself, so I know your point of view. If we manage to defeat what is in the Caprican system, we'll send a message back here

"Three ships are not going to do anything but be destroyed"

"Four" a tall red head stood up. "_Norland_ stands with you"

"Thank you, Captain" Turndike smiled. "And it will be six ships... Two of the ships that we rescued were sold to us anyway for scrapping. All we need to do is to fill them with ammo, put a skeleton crew in the engine room and man the guns – no need to have them fully manned. All we do is to close up all the hatches and put a shuttle in the hanger of each one in the case of evacuation and we have ourselves a pair of floating gunships. Now, and this goes no further than between us, we may have picked up faint communications between Colonial units. When get close to the Colonies, we're going to launch a Raptor to see what we can find"

# # # # #

With something planned, a lot of civilians offered to assist in the repairs to the ships that Turndike planned to take with him on the assault. Scouting missions around Colonial space had turned up a crippled military transport vessel which Turndike had immediately claimed as salvage. Upon inspection of the ship, they found the crew had been killed when the hull had been breached but that the cargo was perfectly intact. Seven Mark IV tactical nuclear missiles had been recovered and installed aboard _Exeter_, _Cambrian_ and _Achilles_ in pairs – with the seventh tucked aboard a Raptor.

"Sit Rep" Turndike called as he walked into the _Exeter_'s CIC.

"We're making last minute adjustments to the firing systems" said Spanswick. "We had some issues with the auto-loaders so we're replacing them and running tests. Apart from that, we'll be fully stored by 0453, the last magazines have been filled and all Vipers are in the tubes"

"_Cambrian, Achilles_ and_ Norland_?"

"The two frigates report they are stored, bunkered and stocked – they are ready to leave on your orders. _Norland_ is having a minor engine overhaul and conducting some last minute combat landing practice"

"Have everybody finish what they are doing, return all ships to the yards and then secure all vessels – leave granted to all hands"

"Dave?"

"This might be the last time some of us have the chance, so lets go and find a few drinks and get ourselves pissed"

"Yeah… Why not?" Spanswick said. "I've rigged the reactors to go up either three minutes after you give the word or on a command from the Bridge"

"Thanks" and Turndike sighed and looked around the CIC. "Where is Kattooni?"

"Starboard pod. She wanted to inspect her Viper visually so I let her"

"Fair enough" Turndike glanced at a display's timer. "Lets get pissed"

# # # # #

"Captain on deck" somebody shouted as Turndike entered the CIC.

"At ease…" he didn't know what else to say. "Sit Rep!"

"All ships are ready to depart on your word" said a salvage crewman.

"The word is given" Turndike said. "Seal airlocks, release docking clamps. Forward thrusters at one half. CIC to Engineering"

"_Engineering. Spanswick_"

"Georgey, time to go to work… Standby to jump"

"_Jump drive standing by_"

"We have cleared the dock" Helm reported.

"Signal _Cambrian, Achilles, Norland, Samantha _and _Patrick_ to formate on _Exeter_ – Tactical Pattern Brick. Prepare to make an FTL jump back to the Colonies"

"Signal away… All ships confirm"

"Navigation, start the clock"

"Yes, Captain – the clock is running" Turndike watched his trained crew do their jobs well. "Five, four, three, two, one… JUMPING!" and there was a sensation of being pulled into a long piece of rope that suddenly recoiled. "Jump complete"

"Scanning… Reading five transponders. All ships present and accounted for" the crewman trained on DRADIS spoke. "Nothing near us, though we are out of range for any of the planets or orbital bodies"

"Understood" said Turndike and picked up the handset. "Comms? Patch me through to the entire fleet" and he snorted at the thought of being the Acting Commander for the fleet. This was something that the Colonial Fleet were trained for and yet seemed to not want to do. "This is Captain Turndike on the _Exeter_. We have just completed an FTL jump back to our homeworlds and are about to set course towards the planet of Caprica. The Cylons came and destroyed our homes, our families, our loved ones – everything we held most dear and stood for. What nobody has told you, and what you could not know until after the jump, is that a scouting Raptor discovered what is believed to be the main Cylon Command and Control vessel based on the level of protection it was getting and the signals traffic. Our aim is to both engage the enemy wherever they may be, but also to take out the ComCon at all costs. Without that flying CPU, the Cylons will be disorganised and allow us to finish our mission. Set course for Caprica, half ahead. Set Condition One throughout the fleet and launch all aircraft. Whatever happens to us, the Cylons will know that the Colonials came and that the Colonials stood. Turndike out" and he replaced the handset and turned to his communications officer. "Send the following message in the direction of the planet Caprica"

"Captain?" the woman blinked at the order.

"Do it. Message begins:- To Cylon Commander, Caprica Occupation Forces, repeated Cylon fleet and Cylon High Command. This is the Battlestar _Exeter_ of the 1st Colonial Fleet. Our position is one standard hour away from the orbit of Caprica, and you have fifty nine minutes to surrender yourselves, ground, air and your ships or we will open fire upon you. There will be no terms given and no conditions will be permitted from yourselves. We're done running from you bastards – we're here to stay. Watch your shiny metal arses… We're coming for all of you. _Exeter_ out" he looked at his DRADIS officer – a crewmember from _Tusk_ still getting over their injuries. "Sound off Action Stations" he said quietly.

"Aye, Aye" the woman picked up the intercom. "Action Stations, Action Stations! Set Condition One throughout the ship. This is no drill, I repeat that this is no drill! Standby to launch all aircraft. All bulkheads will close in twenty minutes – repeat in twenty minutes"

"Sir, fleet reports it is on course for the planet Caprica at one half standard speed"

"All Vipers away except for Vipers 1975, 7409 and Raptor 666. Deck Chief reports their canopies will not close and lock. Estimate three minutes to solve. Raptor 666 is on the Flight Deck awaiting your order to launch"

"Very well" Turndike looked to his Helm officer. "Helm, maintain course and speed… Steady as she goes"


	5. Stand Into Danger

**Stand Into Danger**

"Captain?"

"Yes, Ensign?"

"I am picking up faint contacts on the extreme edge of range" the officer, a survivor from the _Tusk_ said. When going round for crews for his small fleet, the _Tusk_'s surviving Ship's Company elected to follow Turndike with his plan as well as others that wanted either to liberate the Colonies or go down fighting.

"Pass the word on to the other ships, Ensign – and keep watching that contact group" Turndike walked over to the central plotting table in the CIC and looked as the contacts appeared as a barely noticed dot. If the two groups kept the same course and speed they would meet twenty minutes before getting to Caprica.

"Sir, picking up some encrypted comms from the contacts ahead of us – confirmed Cylon vessels" a communications officer spoke.

"Can you read any of it?"

"Negative"

"Oh well…" Turndike said. "Order the fleet to come to full ahead for exactly fourteen minutes then come to a complete stop. Have all Vipers land for immediate refuelling to be done as quickly as possible. Helm, prepare to execute Point Firewall"

"Aye"

"This is Turndike to all ships. We have contacts ahead of us that are believed to be Cylon vessels, and it is my intention to attack. All ships will follow the plan and then assume Point Firewall and fill those bastards full of lead. Attention all ships. As senior officer, the release is hereby allowed of nuclear missiles. All ships to spin up their missiles, but _do not_ open the missile tubes – open all others, but not theirs. Turndike out"

# # # # #

"The Colonials approach us" said a Cylon known as a Number One.

"I read numerous Vipers and several capital sized vessels, two frigates and an armed transport" said a Number Two.

"You know" said a Three, "They fight bravely. They cannot harm our ships but they continue to try.

"Whether they fight or not they know the will die anyway, so really is this bravery or simple desperation?" retorted the One.

"It is magnificent valour" said a Six.

"Always sentimental about these humans" the One said. "Order each Basestar to hold a squadron of Raiders in reserve and to knock out the missiles they'll be sending at us"

"By Your Command" said an Eight.

"This is odd" said a Four. "The Colonials have stopped their advanced and turned side on towards our fleet"

"Fracking can't even keep a fleet facing the right way" said the One. "That Battlestar is turning away and making a run for it" and the datastream showed the _Exeter _making a complete turn around and facing away.

"Her FTL drive is spinning up" said a Five. "She has jumped away" and then held the console as entire ship shook heavily.

"DRADIS contact… She jumped behind us" Three said. "Clever… very clever…"

# # # # #

"Reload" Turndike ordered. "All gun captains, you may choose your own targets – independent fire. All Vipers – launch"

"Launching all Vipers, Sir"

"Fire a full missile spread. Helm, once the missiles have been fired, I want you to bring us about. Navigation, standby for FTL jump back to our position" Turndike felt the hits from the Cylons as they turned their guns on the _Exeter_ – then felt his deck plates shudder as the old Battlestar opened up with a reply of her own.

"All Vipers clear"

"Jump"

"Jump in three… two… one… JUMP!" and the Battlestar blinked out of sight and reappeared back in its assigned position. However, this was the cue for two ships to jump to where the Battlestar had just returned from – making the Cylons split their forces just as Turndike wanted.

"Launch Raptor" Turndike ordered. "Turndike to Megan… Shove that missile up the arse end of that Command Vessel"

"_Aye, Sir_"

"Weapons, target the central axis of the leading vessel. Standby to open fire"

"Weapons locked on target"

"Fire" and the main weapons of the _Exeter_ fired their huge shells deep into the heart of the leading Cylon vessel – smashing in at a high rate of speed and causing massive damage before exploding deep in the heart of the vessel – detonating fuel stores. It lost power and started drifting away from the line of battle, only to explode in a gigantic fireball and sending debris all over – badly damaging sister ships in the process.

"Target destroyed. Massive damage to remaining Cylon Basestars. They are attempting a retreat back towards Caprica – Raiders are screening"

"Like hell" Turndike crossed to the weapons platform and entered commands into the computer. All at once, nuclear weapons in the two ships that had taken _Exeter_'s place suddenly became live as their ships executed pre-planned commands and turned to run full speed at the incoming Cylons. Realising what might be happening, the Cylons put everything into destroying the pair but it was too little too late. They rammed into the Baseships at full speed before their nuclear weapons activated and tore the crippled vessels to pieces – causing a massive EMP blast that the Colonials could not cope with. Alarms sounded off as systems overloaded and sparked – sending the crews rushing to secure them before they lead to other trouble.

"DRADIS is InOp" called the Tactical Officer. "Too much debris and interference for it to work. Estimate three minutes for a clear reading to come through"

"Contact our fighters and ask them for a visual report" Turndike said.

"Aye"

"Secure to Condition Two" Turndike ordered. "Get a damage report and a full butcher's bill as soon as possible. Have the seriously wounded and the dead transported to _Norland_ and _Samantha _and order them to return to the station and get treatment from _Hope_. Land our birds and get them sorted as quickly as possible"

"Visual reports indicate three vessels destroyed and all Raiders either destroyed or bugged out" came a report.

"Very well…" said Turndike. "Get Manning and Morris over here as soon as they can grab a ship"

#

The meeting did not take place for another hour, but Manning and Morris sat with Turndike in his quarters. All three men began to discuss the aftermath of the battle and what they should do next with regards to the attack on Caprica.

"I lost six members of the crew" said Manning.

"Twelve" Morris put in. "And all of my forward interceptors are damaged, I've got significant hull damage and I can't launch any of my Vipers"

"I've got the same sort of damage" said Manning. "The trouble is that the Cylons know where we are and most likely what state of repair we're all in"

"We can't go back for repairs because that will take too long, but neither can we simply sit here and wait for us to fix what is substantial damage" Turndike agreed. "Its clear that we'll have to effect repairs on the way to Caprica, but we're going to need more ships to help fight our way through the defensive lines and then to secure orbital superiority when we land on the surface"

"A lot of those ships we took from the yards were going to be used by you anyway, so why not simply send for them?" asked Morris. "We fill them with as much ammo as we can in half an hour, set their systems to automatic and use them as decoys for the Cylons to shoot at"

"Still going to have to have people man those ships" said Turndike.

"I think" said Manning "That I know where we can get those crews"

"Where?"

"When the attacks first happened, we were carrying a number of prisoners due to be sent to maximum security prisons on the moon of Titan – all of them sentenced to hard labour and, in some cases, life. Whatever they have done, it is nothing to what the Cylons have done… I propose that we talk to them and, if they agree to man the ships during the battle, we wipe the slate clean for most of them"

"Normally" said Morris, "I would disagree. However, Captain, we're short on trained people. It doesn't take too long to train somebody to load a gun and fire it, some of the prisoners are pilots so they can fly the ships… Otherwise its game over"

"And that's the deal?"

"That's the deal" replied Morris and Manning.

"Can you do it in two hours?" asked Turndike.

"By hook or by crook, Captain" said Manning.

"Odd choice of words" Turndike said. "Well" he blew out a held in breath, "What do we have to lose except our lives and our dignity. Take the _Furlong_, _Samantha_ and the rest of the non combatant ships back to the station and do what you can. We'll take all of your Vipers in case the Cylons show up"

"Sir"

"Sir"

"Drop that, would you…?" Turndike shook his head at the saluting pair of police officers.

"Captain?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you going to do?"

"The _Exeter_ will continue to hold and advance from her position – engaging the Cylons wherever they might be" Turndike replied.

"One damaged ship against the entire Cylon fleet? Captain, with respect… Are you insane?" asked Morris.

"Not entirely. I want to try and catch up with that damaged bird before it gets in touch with the rest of them at Caprica. When close enough, I'm going to punch holes in all decks and sections so that all of the air will be vented into space"

"Killing the human form Cylons" said Manning. "But we all know that they can come back within hours"

"I'm hoping that if we kill enough of them their system will get 'clogged up'. If they design their ships like ours in some ways, we'll knock out gravity which will make it hard for their centurions to operate" Turndike grinned as he headed for the hatch.

"What do you plan to do then? Take their weapon stores?"

"No, Lieutenant, I intend to go aboard and lay claim to it as salvage. Fix the engines and weapons and use it as a flying cannon on auto pilot"

#

"We've managed to get the forward weapons grid back to half strength" said Spanswick. "Some of the missiles that hit us did a lot of damage in the bow sections, we've also got hull breaches in places that are hard to reach and engines Three and Five are off the grid. Two, Four and Eight are completely ruined – maybe get half speed out of the remaining engines if we don't strain them too much". Hours after the battle, Turndike and his senior and most trusted crew were discussing the amount of damage. He had kept it hidden from the two police officers, but the damage to the elderly Battlestar was worse then what anybody had thought of. Everybody from the CIC and Bridge crews right down to the galley staff were working on repairs to get the ship back into the fight.

"What is our power situation like?" asked Turndike.

"Essential systems are okay, but I can't power much else at all" Spanswick replied, checking her lists. "Because some of the damage spread to the reactors and the power plants, I am giving the essential systems priority. When it comes to engaging the Cylons, it will be either the flight pods or the defence systems – not both"

"Can you switch to the other once the Vipers and Raptors are launched?" asked Megan.

"Not with the amount of crew left over" said Turndike. "We never expected to take her into combat like this. Even with my people and the Fleet that have joined us…" he shook his head.

"What if we sent a message back for a mobile dock to turn up and give us a hand?"

"Because the repairs would take weeks even with double shifts…" Spanswick said.

"Hang on…" Megan came up with an idea. "The engines that are damaged or destroyed… Are their power units still working?" she asked.

"Three's motors are working – why do you ask?" enquired Turndike.

"Tie them into the main grid to provide as much power as possible" Megan illustrated her thought. "All we need is about ten minutes or so for the launchers and then you can shut them down and divert power to the weapons systems for the entire ship. Once all the Vipers are launched, they simply land on the flight deck and wait for the order to go into battle. It saves us a lot of power that would otherwise go to waste in the launchers when there is no need"

"Georgey?"

"Maybe" she shrugged. "We need to pull some people off the repairs to build some connectors, we'd have to scrounge for heavy duty wires…"

"Good thing we're scavengers" Turndike said. "In order to save power, we'll get up to half speed and then shut the engines down – no need to burn up fuel when there is very little gravity out here to affect us. That should give us extra power in case the toasters decide to bounce us" and he remembered something else he wanted to ask. "Spanners, I looked at some of the footage from the Vipers as they came in for landing. I noticed that the pennants are still up – why?"

"Well, Dave, I made the decision to leave them flying tonight and to shoot the first Cylon bastard that tries to shoot it down"

"That's the spirit" said Turndike. Alarms suddenly sounded but where cut off within seconds as a voice filtered through the intercom.

"_CIC to Captain_"

"Turndike" the salvage Captain spoke as he toggled a switched on the intercom panel on his desk.

"_Two Battlestars just jumped into range – ten thousand yards off the stern. ID codes exchanged and verified as belonging to Battlestars_ Hermes_ and_ Invincible"

"_Falkland_ class" said Spanswick. "One of the first classes of ship after the Cylon War… Had a lot of work done to the design based on the experienced gained from the engagements. I didn't think they could be made ready so quickly after we got to them"

"Clearly they have been able to" said Megan.

"Have them patched into comms as soon as you can… I want to speak to them. Order them both to submit full status reports and route the files to my quarters"

"_Aye_"

"If this keeps going, I'll be believing in the Gods next" Turndike laughed. "Sorry" he apologised to his newest officer when he saw her shift a little. "I know you take the Gods seriously"

"Forget about it" Megan said. "I'll get in touch with the other Battlestars and see what they have in the way of fighters and other ships"

"CIC to Captain"

"_Captain_"

"_Another three ships just jumped into range. IDs read as the Battlestar _Dorsetshire_ and the Light Cruisers _Ajax_ and _Cumberland_… And another ship has jumped in – it's the _Restormal"

"Oh gods…" Spanswick said, "That is more or less the entire fleet here"

"Every single bit of our firepower in one location… This is either going to be a victory or a bloodbath" said Turndike.

"_The _Cambrian and the Achilles_ just jumped in_" the woman was still on the line. "_Current total of ships in theatre is at ten ships_"

"Ten?"

"Norland _just jumped in and is launching shuttles and heavy supply vessels_"

"You know, we might just actually win this one. CIC, find out who the hell is in charge and get everybody together on here ASAP"

"_Aye, Captain_" and the connection was cut.

"We have five Battlestars, two Light Cruisers, two Frigates and an armed merchantman" said Spanswick. "If this is not enough to take out the Cylons, at least we'll go down fighting" she swilled the Ambrosia in her glass before downing it in one and standing. "If you'll excuse me, Captain, I have to see to my Engine Room" and, with that, she left.

"Captain…" Megan looked at Turndike after thinking of something. "If we can refit some of our damage here and now, then it might make sense to…"

#

"… deploy our ships like this" Turndike arranged little wooden models on the plotting table in the _Exeter_'s War Room. "Despite frantic efforts, we're not fully operational so the _Cambrian_ and _Achilles_ will stay with the _Exeter_ to give Anti Missile and Anti Aircraft defence" he put the model of his ship flanked by the two Frigates in the centre of the table. It was discovered that Major Dial had given his permission for the crews of the various military vessels to come and aid the _Exeter_ and her small fleet – leaving behind the rest of the damaged ships behind for defence of the civilian people on the station. They had all agreed to follow Turndike's orders until they either won or died. They had all had enough of hiding and running from the Cylons – now it was time for payback. "_Hermes_ and _Invincible_ will take point with _Ajax_ and _Cumberland_ in support. As a reserve force and holding the rear until we get to Caprica will be _Dorsetshire _and _Restormal_ with _Norland_ acting as a Fast Carrier. As far as we know, from our few recon flights, the Cylons are sitting a short distance from the orbit of the planet itself. Therefore, we're going to jump in around five light minutes out and then cruise towards them. Once we have made the jump, we'll be turning transponders and all homing beacons off and communicating via Laser Link only so the Toasters can't hear any of our final plans – so let your people know the plans. Once we're engaged with the enemy, we're going to split our missile fire so that each Battlestar is reloading whilst the other is firing. According to the best advice and information we have, its suspected that will keep the Cylons on their toes. Whilst the Raiders are being taken care of by the Vipers, Raptors will launch with all the Marines we have to board the Cylon Command and Control ship and either take it over or destroy it. If it is able to be taken, then they will direct the Cylons to fire on each other… Should cause confusion that we can use"

"ACTION STATIONS! ACTION STATIONS! SET CONDITION ONE THROUGHOUT THE SHIP!" a voice screamed over the intercom.

"Turndike. Whats going on?"

"_Five Cylon Baseships – closing rather fast. I estimate seven minutes until they enter firing range. Another contact just jumped in behind them – extreme range of DRADIS_"

"Launch all Vipers" Turndike ordered. "Turn the ship around and prepare to engage the enemy"

"Must have had a scout watching us" said Manning.

"Or somebody sending them a message" Morris replied darkly.

"The fact is that we need to get to our ships" said Dial, and he led the way out of the War Room and ran to the Hanger Deck – closely followed by most of the others.

"Megan!" Turndike called out and the woman looked back at the hatch.

"Sir?"

"You come ba… You come back alive, you hear me?" and there was a moment of understanding passing between the pair. Then, and unexpectedly, Megan came rushing up to Turndike before kissing him fully on the lips.

"Aye, Aye, Captain" and then left.

# # # # #

"Sit Rep" Turndike ordered as he darted into the CIC.

"Five Cylon Baseships, Captain. They have launched 3960 Raiders in a defensive and screening posture" a Lieutenant spoke from Tactical.

"That's a lot… Have all our Vipers go after the Raiders. Under no circumstance are they to go after the Basestars – strictly forbidden" Turndike picked up the intership comms handset. "This is the _Exeter_ to all ships – plough your way through the line of Raiders and take on the capital ships. Do not, and I repeat: do not, go for that sixth contact far behind them. We don't know what it is, so best to leave it alone until it makes a hostile move. _Hermes_ and _Invincible_ – launch a full spread of missiles and thin out their forces. The rest of us will simply use kinetic rounds and pray we win the day._ Exeter_ out. Comms, dispatch a message to the fleet at the station – We have engaged the enemy"

"Cylons closing to missile range for lead ships – fighters closing. _Hermes_ and _Invincible_ are launching missiles" and little tags appeared on DRADIS. The missiles from the pair managed a large number of hits, but some of them were either shot down by the Cylons or were taken out by the Raiders ramming straight into them.

"Moderate damage to Cylon launchers on all Basestars" said one of Turndike's crew. "Their fighter systems are down – they can't recover their Raiders. One quarter of all weaponry has been eliminated - _Hermes_ and _Invincible_ are continuing to attack"

"Very well" said the salvage Captain. "Helm, all stop! Left standard rudder. Bring us about to port and tilt the ship twenty five degrees to starboard. All weapons prepare to fire on incoming targets…"

"Aye, Sir"

"Tactical… What is the location of Viper 189?"

"Closing in for the kill on a group of Raiders"

"Keep an eye on that Viper – divert weaponry to defend it if it needs help"

"Sir?"

"Just do it"

"Aye, Aye" a confused officer said. A shudder was felt as rounds hit the _Exeter_ and a couple of alarms were silenced as crew went into action. The Battlestar replied by opening up with her own firepower and taking on the killing machines. The fleet traded blow for blow over the course of and they lost many good pilots, but they managed to whittle down the Raiders to just a few hundred. Of the Colonial ships, they had all taken damage but continued to pound the Cylon vessels. A long and torturous moan was heard from _Exeter_'s very being as a nuclear blast hit her topside armour.

"Report!" cried Turndike – holding a rag to his bleeding forehead.

"We took a nuke to the topside – radiation within norms… Turrets 3 through 12 on the topside have been destroyed. Got a hull breach… Bulkheads not responding and we've got multiple hull breaches in all sections of the ship. Lateral frame is intact for now, but I don't know how much longer – all stress sensors at maximum" somebody replied – tossing a dead body away from a console.

"Seal off the following sections either side" Turndike said. "Helm, right standard rudder – all ahead flank. Guns, prepare to fire main batteries on leading Cylon. Comms, tell _Cambrian _and _Achilles_ to fall back. Have _Restormal_ and _Dorsetshire_ fall in with us for an attack run" he looked at the confused DRADIS scope. "Where is Viper 189?" he asked.

"Last report from 189 indicated a landing on _Norland_ for rearming" somebody shouted back.

"Nothing since"

"That's why I said last report"

"_Invincible_ is reporting their main engines are down"

"Order Ajax and Cumberland to move in to assist her defence. All other ships are to hold their position or follow us. Get a medic to the CIC" Turndike felt light headed.

"Contact! I have a DRADIS contact on the very edge of range. CBDR – unknown vessel. Estimate four minutes until I get a better reading"

"_Spanswick to Turndike_"

"Go, Georgey"

"_We've lost the main power lines for the Hanger Deck lifts… We can't recover our birds_"

"Can you repair?"

"_Not outside a dockyard and I'm too busy trying to keep the ship intact, Dave_"

"Right… Just keep doing your best. Out" the salvage captain looked over at the DRADIS operator. "Where is that first contact?" he asked.

"Still hanging back, but I am getting some odd signals from it"

"In what way?"

"Communications, data uplinks, downlinks… everything"

"It's her… It's the bloody ComCon" Turndike breathed. "Comms, send the new orders to the entire fleet – target anything not Colonial and push your way through the Cylon lines. The use of nuclear ordinance is hereby allowed. Missile control, spin up remaining nuclear assets. Punch in code X-Ray Mike 6 0 7"

"Confirm release?"

"Superfuse"

"Missiles armed and set for maximum yield – awaiting target"

"Cylon Basestar" Turndike smirked. "Prepare to fire every missile we have to try and hide it. Get our escorts to do the same"

"Aye, Captain" the Fleet officer nodded.

"Captain! Getting an automatic distress beacon from Viper 189"

"Oh my… Order a flight of Vipers and a Raptor to that location. I want that pilot standing on my flight deck"

"Sir"

"_Norland_ is taking heavy damage – she can't take much more fire"

"Order her to jump back to the station" Turndike said. "Helm, whats up with the engines?" but there was no reply. "Helm?" but they reply never came as he saw a piece of ceiling was embedded through the young man and into the console. "Get somebody with a radio down to Emergency Steering" he said to nobody in particular.

"Sir, the second unknown contact is readying her FTL engines for a jump" the DRADIS officer said.

"We're about to get fraked up the arse"

"Want me to order some lube?" came the jokey reply.

"I need a Sit Rep on our forces" Turndike said.

"We've lost at least 50% of our Vipers, _Ajax _has taken heavy damage and is abandoning ship, _Restormal _has a major hull breach but is continuing to engage and all other ships have moderate to major damage in some areas" Captain Sarah Newman who seemed to be in charge of the Fleet personnel, spoke. She was a slightly plumpish woman, but one who could hold her own.

"Captain? I'm reading that second contact as breaking up…It is now four separate contacts"

"Has she been attacked?" Turndike did not remember any warnings of it coming under fire from either side, but the confusion of battle and his own injuries might have allowed it to get past his awareness.

"No…" and after a moment "They've jumped directly behind the Cylon line and are firing all weapons at them"

"Well lets join the party. _Exeter_ to all ships – open fire on the Cylons. Pick your own targets" and the remaining Battlestars, Cruisers and the pair of Frigates fired at the Cylon Basestars who were now caught in between two sets of attackers.

"Sir, one of the ships is breaking formation and opening missile ports"

"Very well – all Vipers clear Cylon airspace. Missile control, target the same shi–" he was cut off as the five Basestars suddenly exploded and adding their own explosion to a huge and powerful wave of energy. As fire and debris spread out, a gigantic shockwave headed towards the battered fleet. "ALL ENGINES FULL REVERSE!" but it was too late – the wave picked up the _Exeter_ and her fleet and swatted them backwards. Alarms sounded as systems and consoles overloaded and the hull finally gave way in parts and opened to space.

"Are you alright, Sir?" asked Captain Newman.

"Ask me in the morning" Turndike stumbled to his feet with help from Newman. "Sit Rep! Damage Report"

"_Checking all systems now, Captain_" came the reply from the Engine Room. "_The lateral beams have been compromised and we're not sure whats going on_"

"Got a visual of the Cylon debris"

"Put it up" and the working screen switched from DRADIS to visual scanners. It showed the fireball in space and debris tumbling in all directions. They thought that nothing could survive the holocaust, but as the crew watched, ignoring the intercom chatter and the alarms, the fireball that still burnt was broken in parts by the bows of four powerful Battlestars as they came through the devastation they and _Exeter_'s fleet of happy go lucky people had caused.

"Sir, I am getting a message from one of the ships" said the comms officer.

"On… On speakers" Turndike could not believe his eyes or any part of his mind.

"_This is the Battlestars_ Riopel_,_ Ark Royal_,_ Victorious_ and_ Dauntless _reporting for duty. Request permission to join the formation and the fleet. Gods Save The Colonies_"

**A/N:**

**Okay, first of all a list of ships back in Colonial Space**

**Battlestars: **_**Exeter, Dorsetshire, Hermes, Invincible, Restormal, Riopel, Ark Royal, Victorious**_** and **_**Dauntless**_

**Light Cruisers: **_**Ajax**_** and **_**Cumberland**_

**Frigates: **_**Cambrian**_** and **_**Achilles**_

**The Riopel is named after a very good friend of mine who I have known for more years then I care to remember. Ark Royal and Victorious are the names of two ships that appear in another one of my friends stories called Wes Imlay. A great writer and I advise you all to read his works. For those that have read my other BSG fics, the Dauntless is indeed the one and only Dauntless from my story "Counter Attack".**

**In the mext chapter, we'll find out whats happened to Megan/Katooni, where these new arrivals have been hiding and the battle for the survival of humanity takes place**

**Regards**

**Pixel and Stephanie**


End file.
